Twitch Will Soon Shutter The Karaoke Game It Launched Last Year

Only a little over a year after announcing the free game, Twitch says that it will soon shutter its Twitch Sings live karaoke title. The decision was announced in a blog post this week, with Twitch stating that it will redirect its efforts toward 'broader tools and services that will help support and grow the entire music community on Twitch.' What does this mean for existing players?

According to Twitch, its streamers will be able to play Twitch Sings and access its library of songs until January 1 when the game will officially be shuttered. Twitch calls the decision to shutter Sings a 'difficult' one — and it's likewise surprising considering the game was announced two years ago, but only became available for all Twitch users in April 2019.

Put simply, Twitch Sings is a collaborative karaoke game that allows streamers to live stream a karaoke session in an interactive way. Among other things, audiences can interact with the streamer by cheering, giving ovations, sending challenges, and even singing with the streamer if they've enabled the option.

The karaoke game was first announced at TwitchCon 2018, later launching in spring 2019 for all users. In a blog post on Friday, Twitch revealed that it has decided not to proceed with the title, giving players only a few more months to enjoy the game. More than 400 songs were released since launch and they will remain available as long the game is live.

The transition away from Twitch Sings will start on December 1 when the company starts removing clips and videos featuring the game, something it says it must do because of its 'contractual obligations.' Following this, Twitch Sings will stop working entirely on January 1. Twitch says only that it will share more about the 'future of music' on its platform in the coming months.