Twitch has launched the beta for its new Cheer feature to select streamers. According to a post on the company’s official website, this feature will be a new way for views to support streamers and highlight moments that really make the community shine. The system is similar to the balloon system of Afreeca, a popular streaming service in Korea.
The system uses “Bits,” a new form of currency that users can buy in set amounts to donate to streamers by typing “Cheer” and the amount of bits you want to donate in the chat. This is known as “Cheering” and will appear as a special emoticon in the chat. You do not have to be subscribed to a streamer’s channel to cheer.
Bits translate into real money for the streamer and can also help them identify they’re regular views based on how often they Cheer by awarding those viewers with special Cheer badges.
As for now, Bits can be bought through Amazon’s payment system, but more payment options will be available in the future. For the full list of which channels are part of the beta, you can check out the Twitch’s official website.
Twitch’s new Cheering system is currently in beta for selected channels and will be launched system wide at a later date.