Stream Using Your Xbox or Playstation

The Twitch app will appear as a sidebar app on the right side of your screen. Select “Broadcast” to start broadcasting the current game. If you select Broadcast before launching a game, the Twitch app informs you that you must launch a supported game first.

How to Stream to Twitch on Xbox One

Brad Stephenson is a freelance tech and geek culture writer with 12+ years’ experience. He writes about Windows 10, Xbox One, and cryptocurrency.

Updated on December 28, 2022
Reviewed by

• Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College

Jessica Kormos is a writer and editor with 15 years’ experience writing articles, copy, and UX content for Tecca.com, Rosenfeld Media, and many others.

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What to Know

• On your Xbox One, go to the Microsoft Store and download the Twitch app.
• To connect your Xbox and Twitch accounts, open the Twitch app and select Log In to receive a six-digit activation code.
• In a web browser on your computer, open the Twitch device activation page, log in to your account, then enter the code from the app.

This article explains how to stream on Twitch with an Xbox One. Instructions apply to all Xbox One models, including the Xbox One S and Xbox One X.

Download the Twitch Xbox App

To stream to Twitch on Xbox One, you’ll need to download the free Twitch app. Here’s how to get it.

1. Open the Store tab on your dashboard.

Connecting Your Twitch and Xbox Accounts

To make sure your Xbox One broadcasts to your Twitch account you’ll need to perform an initial connection using your computer. After your Twitch account is linked to your Xbox One, you won’t need to do it again unless you replace your console or change Twitch accounts.

1. Go to the official Twitch website in your web browser on your computer and login.

Starting Your First Twitch Stream & Testing

The first time you stream from the Xbox One, you’ll be required to run some small tests to make sure everything is working properly and that the quality of the audio and visuals are as good as they can be. Here’s how to get everything set up.

1. Open the Xbox One game that you want to stream. You will not be able to stream to Twitch without a game being active. It’s okay if you open it and just leave it on its title screen. You don’t actually have to begin playing the game.

After your initial setup and broadcast, initiate a Twitch stream by starting a game, then opening the Twitch app, clicking Broadcast, renaming your stream, and pressing the Start Broadcast option.

Get Feedback On Your First Twitch Stream

It’s a good idea to ask a friend to watch your first stream and give you feedback on the broadcast quality and sound levels. If they experience a lot of lag (audio falling out of sync with the visuals), simply return to the Twitch settings and manually select a lower quality broadcast setting.

What You’ll Need to Twitch Stream on Xbox One

To stream to Twitch on your Xbox One video game console you don’t need much beyond the following basics.

• One console from the Xbox One family of devices such as the Xbox One, Xbox One S, or Xbox One X.
• A wireless or wired internet connection. Either is fine but the faster the internet connection is, the better quality of video you’ll be able to broadcast.
• One television set to connect to your console so you can see your gameplay.
• An Xbox One controller to play your game and navigate the Twitch app.

Stream Video of Yourself With Audio on Twitch

If you wish to incorporate video footage of yourself and provide voice narration (both of which are optional), you’ll also need to have the following items.

• An Xbox One Kinect Sensor. This device is primarily used for recording video for your Twitch stream but can also function as a microphone. In addition to enhancing your Twitch broadcast, the Kinect also allows Xbox One owners to use voice commands, make Skype video calls, and play motion video games such as Dance Central Spotlight, Just Dance, and Fruit Ninja.
• The Xbox Kinect Adapter. While the Kinect works directly with the original Xbox One console, owners of the Xbox One S and Xbox One X editions will need to purchase the Xbox Kinect Adapter for it to work properly.

Consider Upgrading Your Audio Setup

The Kinect may have a microphone but for high-quality audio for your stream, you should use a separate device:

• The Xbox One Chat Headset: Owners of the original Xbox One will have received Microsoft’s own custom gaming headset in the console’s box. The Xbox One Chat Headset connects directly to the Xbox One Stereo Headset Adapter (also included) which plugs into any Xbox One controller. This headset records clear audio and is easy to use and can also be purchased separately by gamers with newer consoles, such as the Xbox One S and Xbox One X.
• Other headset or microphone. Newer Xbox One controllers include a 3.5mm audio jack built into the bottom of the device under the d-pad. This jack can be used to connect any regular headset, earphones, or microphone from a heavy-duty gaming headset to basic Apple EarPods.

How do I sign out of Twitch on my Xbox One?

To sign out of Twitch on Xbox One, open the Twitch app, highlight Account on the left side, and press Start on the controller. Then, select My Account > Log Out.

Why can’t I stream on Twitch on Xbox One?

You can’t stream on Xbox One if you don’t have a stable, high-speed internet connection. If your internet connection is strong, try reinstalling the Twitch app on the console.

Can I play music on Twitch on Xbox One?

No. Due to copyright issues, the Twitch app for Xbox doesn’t include the option to stream music. You can play music on Twitch on your PC.

Stream Using Your Xbox or Playstation

Once you’ve completed these steps, you’re ready to go live! Below you’ll find the specific instructions for going live on both Playstation and Xbox, as well as a list of references and third-party documentation to help you troubleshoot if you have issues.

Streaming from PlayStation

1. First, link your account on PlayStation by following the directions on your screen and scanning the QR code or inputting the code provided to twitch.tv/activate.
2. While playing a game, press the Share button on your controller and select “Broadcast Gameplay” from the Share menu, and select Twitch.
3. You can choose your video options, give your stream a title, add in your PlayStation Camera if available, and invite your friends to start watching.

Tip: You will automatically be placed in the game category for the game you’re playing. For maximum searchability and follower engagement, we recommend using the Twitch iOS or Android app so you can select a custom go live notification and add in additional tags.

1. Click “Select Broadcasting” and you’re now live!
2. To stop streaming, press the Share button on your controller, select “Broadcast Settings” from the Share menu, and then select “Stop Broadcasting”.

PlayStation Support : How to Stream Gameplay with Broadcast

PlayStation User Guide : Broadcasting Your Gameplay

Streaming from Xbox

1. First, open the Twitch app and link your Xbox account to Twitch by following the directions on your screen and inputting the code provided to twitch.tv/activate.
2. Before you go live for the first time, ensure your Privacy settings have “Online status & history” set to “Everybody” in the “Others can see if you’re online” setting.
3. You’ll also need to set the “You can broadcast gameplay” setting to “Allow” under “Game Content”.
4. If you’re using a camera, make sure that “You can share content made using Kinect or other cameras” is set to “Allow”.
5. From the Twitch app, select the Broadcast tab where you can choose your video options, give your stream a title, and add in your microphone and camera if available.

Tip: You will automatically be placed in the game category for the game you’re playing. For maximum searchability and follower engagement, we recommend using the Twitch iOS or Android app so you can select a custom go-live notification and add in additional tags.

1. Select “Start Streaming” and you’re now live!
2. Once you start the broadcast, you can select the game you want to play during your stream by pressing the Xbox button on your controller.
3. To stop broadcasting, relaunch the Twitch app by pressing the Xbox button and select “Stop Streaming”.

Help Article : Xbox Broadcasting and Troubleshooting

Xbox Support : How to stream from Twitch on Xbox One

Personalize your Stream

Streamlabs Studio and Lighstream are cloud-based streaming studios that enable you to add overlays, alerts, scenes, and other media to your Xbox stream without needing to invest in a streaming computer or capture card. Set up your project in a web browser and your customizations will be added to your stream automatically every time you go live. You can even use your mobile device as a remote control to change scenes from the comfort of your couch! To use either Streamlabs Studio or Lightstream, a plan is required.

Check out our help page to learn more or visit Streamlabs Studio to explore plans and product details.

Both Xbox and PlayStation can stream to Twitch through Lightstream. Lightstream is a cloud-based streaming studio where you can add overlays, alerts, multiple scenes, and other media to your broadcast without needing to invest in a streaming computer or capture card. Set up your project in a web browser and your customizations will be added to your stream automatically every time you go live. There’s even a remote control to change scenes using your mobile device. To use the integration, a Lightstream plan is required. All plans include a 7-day free trial and start at $8/month. Learn more about Lightstream .

On Xbox , select Lightstream as your destination in the Twitch Xbox app. Lightstream will layer on your customizations and send to your Twitch channel.

On PlayStation 4 , it’s just a simple tweak to your console’s network settings.

For more tips on how to improve your stream make sure you check out more articles on the Creator Camp!

How to Broadcast Your Xbox One Games on Twitch or Mixer

Chris Hoffman is Editor-in-Chief of How-To Geek. He’s written about technology for over a decade and was a PCWorld columnist for two years. Chris has written for The New York Times and Reader’s Digest, been interviewed as a technology expert on TV stations like Miami’s NBC 6, and had his work covered by news outlets like the BBC. Since 2011, Chris has written over 2,000 articles that have been read more than one billion times—and that’s just here at How-To Geek. Read more.

Mar 5, 2018, 10:24 am EDT | 3 min read

The Xbox One can broadcast your gameplay on Microsoft’s own Mixer service, but it also lets you broadcast on Twitch. Twitch streaming just requires some quick setup the first time you do it.

How to Broadcast on Twitch

Twitch is the most popular service for game streaming, and it offers the largest community of viewers, so you’ll probably want to stream on Twitch if you’re looking to build a big audience. While the Xbox One can’t stream to Twitch out of the box, you can enable Twitch streaming just by installing the free Twitch app from the Store. After you go through the setup process once, broadcasting on Twitch is quick and easy. To get the app, head to Store > Search from your Xbox One’s home screen. Search for “Twitch” and install the free Twitch app.

To set it up, launch the Twitch app on your Xbox One, and then select the “Log In” option. You’ll see a six-digit code. On your PC or mobile phone, head to the twitch.tv/activate web page, sign in with your Twitch account, and then enter the code. This links your Twitch account to your Xbox gamertag.

If you haven’t created a Twitch account yet, you can do so from the Twitch website.

After you link your accounts, launch the game you want to stream, and then reopen the Twitch app. You can do this easily by pressing the Xbox button on your controller, and then selecting the Twitch app that should appear as an option since you recently opened it.

The Twitch app will appear as a sidebar app on the right side of your screen. Select “Broadcast” to start broadcasting the current game. If you select Broadcast before launching a game, the Twitch app informs you that you must launch a supported game first.

The first time you start broadcasting, the Twitch app takes you through a quick setup process where you can choose things like whether you want to use your Kinect as a microphone and webcam (if you have one connected). If you don’t have anything to configure here, the options will be blank.

Go through the setup screens and you’ll eventually be prompted to enter a title for your broadcast. Viewers will see this title on the Twitch website. Enter your title, and then click the “Start Broadcast” button.

You can also click the “Settings” button here to change options like your microphone volume and the streaming bitrate quality of your broadcast. The Settings pane also shows you the URL of your Twitch channel, which takes the form https://twitch.tv/username , where username is your Twitch username. If your broadcast isn’t smooth, you may need to return to these settings and lower the bitrate.

The broadcast starts and you’ll see an indication of that in the Twitch pane. Double tap the Xbox button on your controller to go back to the game.

You’ll see an on-screen broadcasting notification while you’re broadcasting, showing you how long you’ve been broadcasting, how many viewers you have on Twitch, and whether your microphone and webcam are included in the broadcast.

To stop broadcasting, press the Xbox button, select the “Twitch” app to open it back up, and then click the “Stop Broadcast” button.

How to Broadcast on Mixer

RELATED: How to Live Stream Your PC Gameplay With Windows 10’s Mixer Microsoft’s Mixer isn’t as widely known or used, but support for it is built into the Xbox One. It’s easy to start broadcasting on Mixer without installing another app or setting up an account. If you just want to stream your gameplay session with a few friends, Mixer is very convenient. You can also use Mixer to broadcast PC gameplay from Windows 10. To use Mixer, launch a game, and then press the Xbox button on your controller to open the guide. Select the “Broadcast & Capture” tab in the guide, and then select “Broadcast” to get started.

You’ll see information about the broadcast, and you can change settings like the title of your stream, whether chat is shown on-screen, and the position of the on-screen overlay. If you have a Kinect, webcam, or microphone connected to your Xbox One, you also can choose whether to include those on your screen.

As this screen indicates, your friends can view your stream online at https://mixer.com/your_xbox_gamertag , where your_xbox_gamertag is your gamertag.

To start broadcasting, click the “Start broadcast” button. Your Xbox One immediately begins streaming to Mixer using your Xbox Live gamertag.

An on-screen overlay appears to indicate the broadcasting status, just as when using Twitch.

To stop broadcasting, press the Xbox button, navigate to the “Broadcast & Capture” tab, and then select Broadcast > Stop Broadcast. RELATED: The Best Ways to Stream Your Games on Twitch, YouTube, and Elsewhere The Xbox One doesn’t provide a way to broadcast to YouTube Live directly from the console, the way you can on a PlayStation 4. However, you could always stream Xbox One games to your Windows 10 PC, and then use PC broadcasting tools if you need to broadcast to an unsupported service like YouTube Live.

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Chris Hoffman
Chris Hoffman is Editor-in-Chief of How-To Geek. He’s written about technology for over a decade and was a PCWorld columnist for two years. Chris has written for The New York Times and Reader’s Digest, been interviewed as a technology expert on TV stations like Miami’s NBC 6, and had his work covered by news outlets like the BBC. Since 2011, Chris has written over 2,000 articles that have been read more than one billion times—and that’s just here at How-To Geek.
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