So, you’ve mastered your favorite Switch game and you’re ready to stream your skills to the world. If you’re unsure exactly how to go about this, we’ve put together a basic explainer on how to livestream on Nintendo Switch.
Further reading
What you’ll need
First, you’ll need a Switch, a Switch dock, an external monitor or TV, a PC to connect to the internet, and a capture card — in this case, we chose to use a Razer Ripsaw. Next, you’ll need to set up the Nintendo Switch for streaming. To do this, connect your dock to a power source and plug in the HDMI cable to the capture card input. Next, take the capture card HDMI cable and plug it into an external monitor or television. Now take the USB cable from the capture card and plug it into your computer.
If you’re using the Ripsaw, you’ll need to download and install the Razer Synapse program. At this point, make sure the light on the Ripsaw turns green. Download Open Broadcaster Studio (OBS) — a free, open-source streaming platform — from the developer’s website. Once installed, open OBS, and under Sources, right-click Add Video Capture Device. Select New and name this whatever you’d like. Next, click Device and select your capture card from the resulting drop-down menu.
You can now turn on your Switch and open the game you’d like to stream. If the image does not appear on the screen in OBS at this point, change the resolution FPS type to Custom and set the resolution to 1080p and the framerate to 60. Now, you’ll need to decide which platform you’d like to use for streaming. Below are three of the more popular options.
Twitch
First go to Twitch.tv and log in — if you don’t have an account, sign up for one at this point — and click your name in the upper-right corner to access the dashboard. Next, go to Settings and select Show Stream Key. Copy this key and go back to OBS. Click File, then Settings. Next, click Streaming and select Twitch as the service before choosing the server closest to you in terms of location. You can copy your stream key and paste it here. Afterward, select Apply. Click Start Streaming and head back to Twitch.tv, where you should be able to see a preview in the dashboard.
YouTube
First, go to YouTube and log in as you normally would. Click the profile icon in the upper-right corner to access your Creator Studio, and select New in the top right corner. You can then select Go Live. If this is your first time, you’ll need to verify your account and wait 24 hours before streaming. Input all of your basic information on the resulting page, including the title description, thumbnail, and other facets you might want. Afterward, scroll down to Encoder Settings and click Reveal on the stream key.
Now copy that key and go into OBS. Click File, Settings, and then Stream. Select YouTube as the service and YouTube Primary as the server, insert the stream key, and select Apply. Then, click Start Streaming and check YouTube for your stream.
Note: Once you do this, YouTube automatically pushes your stream live. You can test this by selecting Private beforehand.
Open Facebook and select the page you’d like to stream from. Click Publishing Tools at the top, then click Videos on the left and select Live. A new window will now appear — copy the stream key from here by clicking the arrow at the bottom of the screen. Go into OBS and click File, Settings, and then Stream. Select Facebook Live as the service, choose the default server, input the stream key, and click Apply.
Then, select Next in Facebook and fill in the necessary details. Go back to OBS and select Start Streaming. Facebook will then show you a preview, which you can adjust using the settings on the left-hand side. When you’re ready to stream, select Go Live.
Mixer
Head to Mixer and click on Stream on Mixer in the top menu to get started. Mixer has a walkthrough for newcomers, so you can take advantage of the tutorial if you need to. Once in your dashboard, click on the Broadcast tab to watch a short video about Mixer’s rules. After that’s done, you can request a stream key, which, again, you import into OBS by going to File, Settings, and then Stream. There’s a waiting period for the initial request, up to 24 hours. When you’re ready to go live, click Start Streaming in OBS.
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