Microsoft’s Beam becomes Mixer, gets a facelift

Microsoft’s livestreaming service is now Mixer, the Site Formerly Known as Beam.

In case you forgot about it, Mixer/Beam is Microsoft’s answer to Twitch and YouTube Gaming, a livestreaming service known for it’s extremely low-latency videos. The new name comes in the middle of a larger, site-wide rebranding.

The team behind Mixer chose the new name to reflect its new social focus:

We believe so much in the power of the platform and want to grow it in every major market around the world. Unfortunately, that wasn’t something we could do with the Beam name. We chose Mixer as our new name because it represents what we love most about the service….how it brings people together.

Other changes include the ability for up to four people to stream simultaneously. The Mixer Interactive development kit also allows streamers to set up audience participation. One example Mixer gives is allowing audiences to vote on choices while the streamer is playing a TellTale game.

Mixer takes the place of Beam on PC and Xbox One starting today. The iOS and Android apps have changed to Mixer, too.