Skip to main content

Everything that happened at TwitchCon 2018

TwitchCon, the internet’s party, had its 2018 edition. Here's everything that happened

TwitchCon 2018 — the yearly event where streamers and their communities celebrate and learn together about the platform and everything that surrounds them — has just come to an end. If you happened to missed the news, don’t worry because we’ve got you covered with our roundup of tournament results for Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, Fornite, and PlayerUnknown Battlegrounds, interviews, and the best cosplay of this year.

If you missed our coverage live from the event, be sure to visit Digital Trends on Twitter and Instagram to see everything we gathered from the event, as well as our social guy @allRidoisWinn.

Keynote: All upcoming features for the platform

TwitchCon 2018 took place at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, California, on the weekend of October 26-28. During the Keynote presentation on the first day of the event, there were a number of announcements regarding upcoming features for the platform, some long sought the users and others that came as a surprise.

[iframe-embed url=”https://player.twitch.tv/?autoplay=false&video=v327720797″ size=”large” height=”420″]

Squad Stream: The days of needing to use third-party software to create collaborative streams are over when Twitch begins airing Squad Stream in 2019. It will allow four streamers to join in a single view and will be available for both desktop and mobile versions.

Highlighter update: Arriving in January, this functionality allows for streamers and editors to stitch multiple moments from a past broadcast into a single Highlight.

Featured sections for Twitch homepage: Up-and-coming streamers, new recommendations from a wide range of topics, and more are getting their special place on Twitch’s homepage later this year — just in case you were looking for new streams to join.

VIP Badges: This upcoming feature will allow you to recognize great viewers of your streaming by granting them a VIP Badge with only a chat command.

Channel moderation tools in chat: Starting in January, mods will be able to use a set of tools to keep track of a user’s chat, band, or timeout history, as well as leave secret notes for other mods in each viewer’s panel.

Subscriber tenure based on total months: Another feature that’s coming soon will now show the total number of months you’ve been subscribed to a channel, and chat badges/recognition will be based on that period of time. Viewers can even share their “streaks” on chat whenever they gain a new badge.

TwitchCon 2018 Events

Digital Trends was not only busy covering the event on our social media channels, along with taking part in each tournament finale, but we also had the chance to speak to streamers from all around the world throughout the weekend.

Interviews

With over 40,000 followers on Twitch, DataDave is a well-known variety streamer who’s not only a big fan of Pokémon, but also a Ph.D. student who streams daily. DataDave spoke to us about what he would be doing if he wasn’t streaming and what it means to him to actually meet his audience in person at TwitchCon.

DizzyKitten is also a variety streamer who has also been doing ASMR content for over a year now. Her main games are Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. She spoke to us about the importance of having two internet providers at all times in case “one of them fails during a stream.”

Jakenbake made a name with outdoors streaming, which is pretty different from what you would expect. During a trip to Japan, Jake used Twitch as a way to record his travels, which he shares with his audience.

xChocoBars focuses her streams around Fortnite, Hearthstone, and World of Warcraft. She talked about when she realized that she had become famous on Twitch.

Maximilian_Dood told us about his vision for fighting games within the TwitchCon community and his longtime love for Street Fighter. Kripparrian spoke about his focus on Blizzard games during his career as a  Twitch streamer and YouTuber, along with his professional status playing Hearthstone, and his routine as a young, full-time League of Legends player.  the rise of YouTuber and streamer Sleightlymusical as a musical revelation, showcasing occasional demonstrations of magic on camera.

Tournaments

PUBG Tournament at TwitchCon
HP

The Esports presence at TwitchCon this year featured a wide variety of games and prizes for dozens of contestants. Here are the results for 2018’s matches:

In PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds matches during the Omen Challenge, the team formed by PaG3_ and EwanG412 took first place, and a grand prize worth $300,000. The team formed by TheCobrass and doublecze took second place, while Mazarin1k and spajKK_ finished third.

Streamers such as Ninja, Shroud, CouRage, and DrLupo took part in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4‘s new Blackout mode at the Doritos Bowl. Each gamer led a team of four, and the winner ended up with a $100,000 prize. Results are as follows:

First place was taken by Shroud, Just9n, Chocotaco, and Chad with 499.5 points; CouRage, Karma, TeePee, and Hysteria finished second with 431.25 points; Ninja, JoshOG, Gold Glove, and Fearitself were third with 374 points; and DrLupo, Annemunition, Mad Ruski and Ninja With No L were fourth with 350.75 points. We also had the opportunity to talk to Shroud about what this huge win at the Doritos Bowl meant for him.

And of course, the Fortnite Fall Skirmish had its Grand Finale over the weekend with a Streamvitational Event for 50 Fortnite creators and 50 random TwitchCon attendees. Tfue and Cloak were the champions of the night, claiming $400,000; NateHillTV and @FunkBomb took second place, and ZexRow and Vinny1xx finished third.

Cosplay Contest

The cosplay contest is a highlight of TwitchCon that saw its return this year, and there were some impressive cosplays on stage. Casey Renee won the grand prize of $15,000 with her Amethyst cosplay, in the category Needlework.

Cig Neutron won for Best FX with their Mother Brain suit from Nintendo’s Metroid. the “Larger Than Life” category featured Terrible Trio Creations offering their take on the Guild Wars 2 character Khan Grimblood. Lastly, Azure Props introduced an Artorias the Abysswalker cosplay from Dark Souls, winning the Best Armor category. You can watch the grand finale below:

Your #TwitchCon 2018 Cosplay Contest winner is… @CaseyReneeCos!

Her flawlessly detailed Amethyst cosplay (by artist Sakizou) gave her the edge against Artorias, the Mother Brain, and the Charr. Congrats on earning the $15,000 grand prize. pic.twitter.com/8HhhcejrDo

— Twitch (@Twitch) October 28, 2018

Between live tournaments, cosplay contests, and many upcoming features for both streamers and viewers from Twitch, there was something for everyone at TwitchCon 2018.

Editors' Recommendations

Diego Arguello
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Diego Argüello is a freelance journalist from Argentina who spends most of his time reading in public transport and thinking…
Spider-Man 2 preload guide: release time, file size, and preorder
Peter and Miles leaping in the air in the city.

Peter and Miles are all suited up and ready to take on Kraven, Venom, and any other villains that threaten the new and improved New York when Spider-Man 2 arrives on October 20. This PS5 exclusive is shaping up to be one of the fall's biggest titles, which is saying something considering the competition. Still, everyone is waiting to finally feel that sensation of swinging through the buildings once again, and the wait is finally almost over. Even though the game will let you fast travel and switch between characters instantly, downloading the game itself is another story. We'll help you swing right into the game by sharing all the preload information you need on Spider-Man 2.
Spider-Man 2 release time

There's no concrete time for when Spider-Man 2 will unlock as of yet, but it could possibly be 12 a.m. PT or ET on October 20. Once Insomniac or Sony clarifies the specific launch time for the game, we will update this article.
Spider-Man 2 file size
Spider-Man 2 will take up a good chunk of your storage space at 98BG in size. If you need to make some room, do so now.
Spider-Man 2 preload options

Read more
Is Lords of the Fallen cross-platform?
A knight with a large sword prepares to stab a dragon in Lords of the Fallen.

If there's one thing you can count on in nearly any Soulslike game, it's that you're going to face some hefty challenges along your journey. That rings as true as ever in Lords of the Fallen, which tasks you with exploring treacherous locales and facing off against horrifying and deadly creatures around every corner. As such, you may find yourself wanting to bring a friend along for some cooperative play, and you can do exactly that by simply inviting them to your world, where they can stay for as long as they'd like. However, if you're wondering what options you have available if your friend is playing on another platform, we'll tell you whether Lords of the Fallen has crossplay below.
Is Lords of the Fallen cross-platform?

The quick and easy answer to whether Lords of the Fallen has crossplay is yes, it features crossplay. However, this only works between PC and each console individually, meaning that PS5 and Xbox players can't connect with one another. For those on either platform looking to connect with PC players, though, you can freely invite someone for co-op (or invade them for PVP) with no issues whatsoever.

Read more
All upcoming Nintendo Switch games: 2023, 2024, and beyond
Princess Peach in Super Mario RPG.

The Nintendo Switch is one of the most popular consoles Nintendo has ever produced, with a wide variety of games to choose from and plenty of unique features. We’ve already gotten to play new entries across the Zelda, Super Mario, and Pokémon series on Nintendo Switch, but there are still plenty of great games on the way for the hybrid console. These include exclusive games developed internally by Nintendo, as well as third-party titles and ports of games that are also available on other platforms.

There are also lots of games to look forward to on the platform. These are the best upcoming Nintendo Switch games for 2023 and beyond. Of course, some titles without release windows could skip the Switch entirely and wind up on Nintendo's next-gen console.
Upcoming Switch games 2023
The games listed below either have 100% confirmed release dates or solid release windows that we expect them to hit this year. Anything that's up in the air due to more vague launch predictions or previous delays will be listed below confirmed launches.

Read more