Game News Cult of the Lamb: The Twitch extension, the ultimate ingredient for the success of a video game?
It’s kind of “the” game of the month for August 2022! Cult of the Lamb has just been released, turning players into budding cultists who are sometimes magnanimous, sometimes downright sadistic. But the action-management game hides another occult trick: a very ambitious Twitch extension that turns viewers into followers and allows them to act on a player’s game. A revolution in the world of Twitch?
As part of Cult of the Lamb runs its course, on Retro Gaijin’s Twitch channel, an outside force is about to change everything. “The chat decides my fate?” wonders the streamer. “What are you doing ?”. Like other content creators, the man got into Devolver’s action-management app with the accompanying Twitch extension. It is offered free of charge and allowsinclude spectators in the adventure without having to leave the game screen or consult the chat channel. A notable effort! Features of the genre often require back and forth between the Twitch interface and the game and itself. Fans can thus, passively and without having a copy of the game, be a follower alongside their creator (their pseudonym is then displayed live); help him unlock new items; give him non-negligible bonuses; or make it difficult for him. All this without moving from the streaming platform using a votes and points tool.
“Cult of the Lamb uses powerful dark magic behind its amazing Twitch extension – and we have some defining moments to prove it” – Give feedback digitally, on Twitter
New high
“Cult of the Lamb, what a thrill! Simple and effective gameplay – the Twitch extension, bars to laugh with the chat!” affirms homegrown designer Adyboo, on Twitter. He’s not alone in praising functionality. “As a streamer, (what Cult of the Lamb does, editor’s note) is all I hope for. I prefer an extension, not elements integrated into the chat” explains for example TheRomShow, in a video published by Devolver Digital. While BogOtter, an old veteran of the famous platform, even goes so far as to say that it is the Twitch extension he was no longer waiting for in 7 years of business. “It’s so good to have the draw system in the game (to choose a viewer as a follower, editor’s note) and not to have to leave the window constantly”.
Despite various bugs, slowdowns, the Massive Monster studio seems to have hit the bull’s eye. The action-management game has already been warmly received by the press (17/20 on JV, more than 80 on the ratings aggregator Metacritic) and the Twitch extension is on track to boost its popularity – if not its sales. As of this writing, Cult of the Lamb is the sixth most-watched title on the streaming platform, surpassing 140,000 simultaneous spectatorsahead of big names like Minecraft, Apex Legends or Tower of Fantasy. Even on Steam: Massive Monster’s game ranks at the top of the “Bestsellers” category and takes first place from the PC version of Marvel’s Spider-Man.
The most watched games on Twitch (08/12/22 at 6 p.m.)
All the ingredients
Only time will tell if this success is here to stay. On the other hand, what is certain is that Cult of the Lamb has arguments for resist a little bit on Twitch – long enough to exploit its full commercial potential. There is an offbeat concept: running a cult with a cute lamb as a tyrant; great replayability, thanks to the rogue-lite part, its randomly generated levels and the elements to improve and then personalize its base; and a form of mise en abyme where viewers can become fictional followers of their favorite streamer, thanks to the extension. Yes, a perfect combo to attract attention!
Especially since the strategy has already proven itself. The developers of the action game Warhammer Vermintide 2 claim that Twitch integration was an element “essential” to the live success of the game, and therefore (one imagines) to the commercial success that resulted from it. Here: viewers can regularly choose between several events to help or get the player into trouble. “With the beta’s huge success with streamers, it was easy to decide to include the Twitch extension at launch, as it would give streamers more options to interact with their viewers and show that we value this. they do,” says studio Fatshark. Slay the Spire (2017), another game that benefits from integration, owes its success in particular to Twitch.
“Twitch is an integral part of communicating with gamers” – Fatshark Games, developer of Warhammer Vermintide 2, in an interview on the Twitch site
Back up, jump better
The idea is therefore not to make Cult of the Lamb, Warhammer Vermintide 2 or Slay The Spire the new behemoths of Twitch. This category is in any case far too occupied by the unstoppable Rust, League of Legends or even Grand Theft Auto V. It is rather make the most of the moment of exposure offered by a launchfeeding a form of “buzz” with a clever and collaborative functionality. Another advantage, only on the streamer side, is to offer a moment of sharing and conviviality on a channel. An important axis, so much so that games like Choice Chamber rely on the interaction between viewers and creator. But you should never say never. Maybe the next Twitch star will bank on that.
More than 6,000 channels now have the @cultofthelamb Twitch extension installed, live now or ready for launch chaos tomorrow.
Over 44,000 unique viewers interacted with the extension.
Nearly 1,000 cultists created per chat.
48 times the cat pooped or vomited all subscribers. 💩 https://t.co/nJkUarsmcm
—Clara Sia | jet lag (@seriouslyclara) August 10, 2022
Over 6,000 channels have now installed the Cult of the Lamb Twitch extension. Over 44,000 unique viewers interacted with the extension. Nearly 1,000 followers created per chat – Clara Sia, Influencer Strategy at Devolver Digital, on Twitter (August 11, 2021)
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