Elon Musk's Live Diablo IV Playtest: X's New Game Streaming Feature Unveiled

Elon Musk is testing a new game streaming feature on X, which is currently only available to Premium subscribers. The feature is similar to Twitch, and it allows users to live stream themselves playing games to their followers.

Musk unveiled the feature on Sunday night during a 54-minute Diablo IV stream. He shared the stream on an anonymous Twitter account with the handle @cyb3rgam3r420. Musk later confirmed the company's testing of the feature in a reply to the account.

Mark Kalman, an engineer at X, also shared a video guide explaining how Premium subscribers can set up game streaming by connecting Open Broadcaster Software (OBS) to their Twitter accounts through X Media Studio.

It remains to be seen how committed X is to attracting streamers, as the feature currently lacks many creator-oriented functions found on other platforms. For example, streamers cannot currently use overlays or other visual effects to enhance their broadcasts.

However, the launch of this new feature underscores X's recent focus on creators and new video features to entice more users to the platform. Additionally, the company has announced its intent to experiment with live shopping features through a partnership with Paris Hilton.

There are some concerns about whether X's infrastructure can handle the demands of these new live video features. The company faced difficulties with large live audio and video streams, particularly when Musk was involved, following layoffs of site reliability engineers last year.

For example, when Florida Governor Ron DeSantis joined a chat on Spaces in May to announce a presidential run alongside Musk, the stream repeatedly crashed. And just last week, when Musk attempted to livestream his visit to the US-Mexico border, the video feed abruptly cut out after about four minutes.

Live Diablo IV Stream:

In a captivating move, Elon Musk demonstrated this feature during a 54-minute live stream of Diablo IV. The stream was shared via an anonymous Twitter account, @cyb3rgam3r420, and Musk confirmed the company's testing of this game streaming feature in a subsequent reply.

To assist Premium subscribers in setting up game streaming, X engineer Mark Kalman shared a video guide on connecting Open Broadcaster Software (OBS) to Twitter accounts through X Media Studio.

X's Focus on Creators:

While X's game streaming feature is still in its early stages and lacks some creator-oriented functions found on other platforms, it underscores the company's commitment to attracting creators and enhancing its video capabilities.

Additionally, X has announced plans to explore live shopping features, collaborating with Paris Hilton to produce original video content with integrated live-shopping elements.

Challenges and Infrastructure Concerns:

There are concerns about X's infrastructure capacity to handle the demands of these new live video features. The company faced challenges with large live audio and video streams, particularly during Musk's participation, following layoffs of site reliability engineers in the past.

While some issues were attributed to a data center relocation, they seem to persist. Recently, during Musk's attempt to livestream his visit to the US-Mexico border, the feed abruptly cut out, requiring an urgent company-wide email from Musk to resume the stream.