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Get excited, gamers — Twitch is about to release a desktop app beta

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Just a few weeks after implementing a system that allows fans to buy games directly from Twitch, the company is making yet another announcement that is sure to leave gamers everywhere jumping for joy (or something more appropriate to the demographic). In a blog post published Friday, Brian Petrocelli, a product marketer at Twitch, revealed that the gaming platform will launch a desktop app beta on March 16. In just five short days, you’ll be able to get onto Twitch more easily than ever before.

“One of the best things about the Twitch community is the people you connect with on your journey,” Petrocelli wrote. “It’s why we are always looking for ways to make it easier to keep in touch.” And the latest way comes in the form of this desktop app, which seems to have been made possible by way of Twitch’s acquisition of Curse a few months ago. Indeed, Petrocelli noted, the Curse and Twitch teams have worked to merge the two platforms to create a unique experience, one that will help “build stronger and more meaningful connections between you, your friends, and your community.”

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With the launch of the desktop app, Twitch says users will be able to create their own Twitch server that will allow them to stay in touch with the ever-growing Twitch community. Moreover, ” … we’ve made it super easy for you to import and centralize your friends from the game communities you belong to,” Twitch announced. Friends can also now be reached by way of voice and video calls, yet another new feature.

On March 16, you’ll be able to get the Twitch Desktop App by visiting download.twitch.tv. And remember how we mentioned up top that you could buy games directly from Twitch? You can now download them directly from the desktop app, too. If you thought you had trouble dragging yourself away from Twitch before, things might’ve just gotten a lot harder.

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