Twitch this week announced a new feature which allows viewers to filter streams in the popular battle royale game PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds by the number of players left in the game.
No one likes a chicken dinner when it’s cold.
Be there for the big moments by watching @PUBG on Twitch with our new custom filters. pic.twitter.com/A4w2z0Bs2s
— Twitch (@Twitch) May 15, 2018
The context: The filters let you choose PUBG streams with more than 50 players remaining, 25-50, or less than 25. You can also filter streams by those who are playing solo or in teams.
Twitch’s announcement tweet implies the filter’s for joining streams as they’re coming to an end — or at least, I assume that’s what they mean by a “cold chicken dinner” (for those not in the know, a “chicken dinner” is a win in PUBG). Still, the option to search for streams with more players is better for closet sadists like me who aren’t as interested in instant gratification and enjoy watching the list tick slowly down over a long period of time (hey, don’t judge).
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Why it matters: Considering there are thousands of streamers playing PUBG at any given time, filters give lesser-known players a better chance at getting attention. If viewers have more options of whittling down the dizzying list, then smaller streamers can move up the list based on their gameplay alone.
This isn’t the first time Twitch has added filters to its most popular games. Last year, viewers were allowed to filter Overwatch and Hearthstone streams by the main character the streamer uses. So one can presume PUBG won’t be the last game they use this for, either.
We’ve contacted Twitch to find out if they’d be willing to implement the filters with Fortnite, which currently matches (if not exceeds) PUBG in popularity.
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