PC gamers who use Steam now have a more integrated option for sharing live video of their gameplay with the world, as Valve today introduced Steam Broadcasting as a feature in its beta client. Every Steam user that has made a purchase can now stream audio and video from any game on the service over the Internet, and that content can be viewed either by the world at large or only by people on their friends list. The functionality comes with "no game ownership [on the viewer side], special fees, or additional apps required."

What's more, beta client users don't even need to make an explicit decision to start broadcasting before taking advantage of the feature. As Valve explains in its FAQ, "if your settings allow your game to be watched, then you start broadcasting when someone starts watching" by selecting the "Watch Game" option from their friends list menu. Don't worry about friends sneaking a peek without you knowing, though. Users will be prompted to set privacy settings the first time a watch request comes in, and they can require friends to receive invites or make explicit requests before watching a gaming session.

Players can view the streams either through the Steam client itself or through a Web browser, with Chrome and Safari receiving official support from Valve. Streams that are set to public will be listed on a new community broadcast hub, which already shows dozens of participating gamers mere minutes after the feature was announced. Broadcasters can choose to share their desktop and microphone commentary in addition to the game video, and these plays can choose bitrates and resolution up to 3.5 Mb/s and 1080p from the settings (though Valve warns that "bandwidth may be limited during the beta"). Viewers can interact with the broadcaster through a chat window on the side of the stream.

Broadcasters have to abide by a code of conduct that bans standard restricted content like pornography, threats, racism, and abusive language as well as "any discussion of piracy" or "cheating, hacking, game exploits" or "posted copyright material such as magazine scans."

The introduction of Steam Broadcasting comes just months after major gameplay streaming service Twitch attracted a $970 million buyout from Amazon . That buyout reflects the quick rise of gameplay sharing as a major social phenomenon over the past few years, with Twitch alone reporting over 60 million visitors per month. The PS4 has offered the ability to stream gameplay via Twitch since its launch, and the Xbox One followed suit soon after.