Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming
  3. News

Mobcrush aims to be Twitch for mobile, hires Apple, Google, and Xbox leads to do it

Will Fulton
By

mobcrush open beta
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Startup Mobcrush, now in open beta, is bringing Twitch-style live game streaming to mobile phones and tablets. The beta is currently only open to people with iOS devices and Mac computers, but Windows and Android betas will follow. Ultimately Mobcrush intends to provide “one-click, multiplatform streaming, which allows players to live stream gameplay sessions at the touch of a button, chat with their communities in real time, and save videos for future viewing and distribution.”

In pursuit of this goal, Mobcrush has been hiring executive talent from the major, relevant companies. Alongside the public beta, today the company announced hiring Koh Kim, who previously worked in Google Play games business development, and Greg Essig, who ran the games section of the Apple App Store. The pair will co-run business development, joining a team that also recently added Eric Doty, a former Xbox strategist for Microsoft.

Recommended Videos

“Greg and I have always respected each other and believed in the engagement and reach of mobile,” said Kim in a prepared statement. “We’ve always wished we could work more closely together, and now are able to combine forces, pulling from both of our backgrounds to offer a unique expertise that spans the whole mobile space and will help creators and mobile game developers interact with their fans.”

Related

Mobile game streaming isn’t new — Twitch has dabbled, and companies like Kamcord also have apps. Mobcrush aims to stand out from the pack with its ease of use. The closed beta already pulled in some impressive numbers. A July 23 live stream of Supercell’s Boom Beach drew over 114,000 views, peaking around 20,000 concurrent viewers. It wrapped with a total 1 million minutes of live gameplay viewed.

Live streaming games has become big business in the last year. Amazon purchased breakout success Twitch for nearly $1 billion. Subsequently Google, which reportedly failed in its bid for Twitch, announced a competing service, YouTube Gaming. With consoles and PC covered, mobile is the last great frontier for game streaming, and Mobcrush is well positioned to stake it out.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Will Fulton
Will Fulton
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Will Fulton is a New York-based writer and theater-maker. In 2011 he co-founded mythic theater company AntiMatter Collective…
The 6 biggest iOS 17 features that Apple stole from Android
iOS 17 logo on an iPhone, Android logo on an Android phone.

Apple made a big splash at WWDC 2023 this year, with the big headline announcement being the Vision Pro augmented reality headset. But we also got a glimpse of what’s to come with iOS 17, iPadOS 17, watchOS 10, and macOS 14 Sonoma.

Though iOS 17 appears to be more of a quiet release this year that focuses on refinement and quality-of-life improvements, I have mixed feelings overall. To be honest, I was a little underwhelmed with the iOS 17 announcement based on what was actually shown off on stage, but there are some very cool features that Apple didn’t make a big deal out of (when it should have).

Read more
iOS 17: Apple didn’t add the one feature I’ve been waiting for
Multiwindow on Galaxy S23 Ultra (on left) and multiwindow with popup window on Oppo Find X6 Pro (on right).

Multiwindow on the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra (left) and multiwindow with pop-up window on the Oppo Find X6 Pro (right). Prakhar Khanna/Digital Trends

I’m a big-screen phone advocate. While I like the comfort of holding a compact phone (such as the Samsung Galaxy S23 with a 6.1-inch display), I prefer using devices like the Galaxy S23 Ultra, Oppo Find X6 Pro, Xiaomi 13 Pro, and iPhone 14 Pro Max.

Read more
Apple and Google are teaming up to make tracking devices less creepy
Apple AirTag lifestyle image.

Apple and Google are partnering to develop a new standard for Bluetooth tracking devices that seeks to stop malicious stalking and other abusive use of gadgets like the Apple AirTag. Essentially, this would be a universal, OS-level tracker detection and alert system that will work uniformly across Android and iOS. The two companies are inviting stakeholders to review the proposal and submit their feedback within the next three months.

Once the feedback period is over, all the involved parties will work together to finalize the technical standardization, with the hope of releasing a market-ready version by the end of the year. Following the release and adoption by makers of tracking devices, the tech will be generally made available via a software update for Android and iOS devices.
Better late than never

Read more