Developer preview for multiple video extensions now available
One of the first pieces of feedback we heard from creators after launching Extensions was, “How can I get more of them on my channel?” Today we’re taking a leap forward in that direction with the introduction of multiple video extensions, thanks in large part to our developer community’s input.
Starting today, you’ll be able to create and test component extensions, which are overlays that cover a smaller portion of the video player and enable viewers to locally control visibility of them. This will enable streamers to activate up to three video extensions at a time (in addition to three panel extensions on their channel page), creating even more opportunities for them to use your extensions.
How do I get started building a component extension?
From the Twitch developer dashboard, assign the “video component” anchor type for your extension. Next, input the following information for your component extension:
- Video component viewer HTML path and relevant metadata
- Aspect height and width
You can also pick the component anchor type in the developer rig to see a view of your component extension. The developer rig makes it easier to build and test your extensions — check it out if you haven’t already!
We encourage you to start thinking about developing extensions with multiple anchor types (e.g. full screen overlay, component, panel) so that you can increase the opportunity for your extension to be activated on a streamer’s channel page.
To give you visibility into our timeline, we are targeting a mid June launch for the public availability of multiple video extensions — until then, component support will only be enabled for testing versions of your extensions. This will give you a two month head start on building and testing a component extension, so that it’s ready by the time it rolls out to all Twitch streamers and viewers.
Upcoming features for multiple video extensions
In the spirit of providing early access to new features for our developers, we are still working on a number of features between now and the public availability of multiple video extensions. These include:
- Minimize/maximize functionality in the video player for video overlay and component extensions
- Drag-and-drop positioning during component extension activation
- Customizable video player taskbar icons (separate from the primary extension icon)
Keep your eyes peeled here on the developer blog for updates as these incremental features are implemented.
As we shared in our roadmap update, this is one of many new features we’re working on to create access to Extensions in more places. As always, if you have any questions or feedback, please let us know on the forums, and check out the Extensions guide for more information.
