Introducing Dual Format and 2k Streaming on Twitch

We’re always looking for ways to help streamers deliver the best possible experience to their communities, and one way we’ve been working to do that is by upgrading our technology to support higher quality streams that are optimized for every viewer. I’m excited to share that starting today, we’re rolling out Dual Format streaming for all streamers on Twitch and 2k (1440p) streaming for Partners and Affiliates.

Twitch has always been about longform, live streaming which has traditionally been streamed in horizontal format for desktops and living room devices. But as viewing habits shift, more and more of our viewers are watching Twitch on mobile. 70% of new viewers are coming to Twitch on mobile, and more and more of our existing viewers are checking in with their favorite streamers on mobile, too. We want to help our streamers optimize their experience for the mobile format without sacrificing your existing set up.

Dual Format Streaming lets you stream in both horizontal and vertical formats at the same time. So viewers on mobile will see a full screen vertical view optimized for mobile devices, and viewers watching on a desktop will see the classic horizontal format. When you’re viewing on mobile, you get an optimized layout when you’re holding the phone vertically. You can switch to classic split view if you want. And when you turn the phone from either view, you’re back in a full screen horizontal view.

Mobile is now the front door to Twitch. Dual Format helps creators reach more people by delivering an experience that’s optimized for how viewers increasingly consume live content.

Deeper Engagement Through Mobile-Optimized Viewing

Testing shows that Vertical layouts stand out in the mobile feed and drive more clicks into your stream so you can capture the attention of the growing mobile audience!

Creative Control + Effortless Sharing Across Formats

Dual Format gives you two custom layouts in vertical and horizontal so you have control over the vertical format and can customize it to remove the need for editing when sharing clips of the stream. With Dual Format, you’ll always get both a horizontal and a vertical version of your Clips and VODs, too.

Dual Format uses Enhanced Broadcasting technology, which uses the client to encode multiple variants of your stream to viewers. We have added server side transcoding for Partners and many Affiliates to offset the strain this can put on some systems and have seen noticeable performance improvements during testing. Less strain on your system, higher quality for your viewers across every format.

To further optimize your viewing experience, 2k (1440p) streaming, powered by Enhanced Broadcasting technology, is now available to all Partners and Affiliates on Twitch!

Going live in 2K at 1440p resolution allows for more detailed streams, and we’ve also bumped up bitrates across the board — up to 9 Mbps for 1440p and 7.5 Mbps for 1080p — so streams look sharper and more consistent, even during fast-paced gameplay.

A better viewing experience for your community

Upgrading to 2k (1440p) streaming offers a noticeable step up from 1080p streaming, with richer detail, improved clarity, and better performance—whether you’re gaming, making art, or just chatting. Higher quality streams unlock access to 2k Clips and VODs for you and your viewers, too.

Higher resolution, without the higher risk

We’ve added server-side transcode support for Partners and many Affiliates when streaming in 2k using Enhanced Broadcasting, a change that greatly improved performance during our Beta test. This advanced technology will automatically adjust the stream quality for users with limited bandwidth to prevent lagging and buffering, making sure all of your viewers get the best version of your stream.

2k streaming uses HEVC, a next-generation video codec that provides higher quality at lower bitrates, compared to AVC (used for 1080p streams and lower). The newer HEVC codec will allow us to deliver higher quality video at 9 Mbps than you would get by configuring your own settings to go above the recommended bitrate with AVC today.

It takes 3 easy steps to get set up with 2k Streaming. Go to our knowledge center to learn more about set up and FAQs.

We’re excited to help our streamers deliver higher quality, more reliable streams with 1440p and Dual Format streaming. We’ll be highlighting Dual Format and 2k streams on the front pages of the mobile app over the next week. Try streaming in Dual Format and 2k today.