Vice Is Launching Gaming Channel With 72-Hour Twitch Live-Stream
Crack open the energy drinks.
Vice Media on Friday is kicking off a 72-hour marathon live stream on Twitch featuring gamers, music artists and other guests playing 72 games over three straight days to lead up to the debut of Vice’s new gaming channel, Waypoint, on Monday.
The Waypoint live-stream will run on Twitch’s front page starting at 12 p.m. Eastern on Friday. The broadcast will feature guests such as Viceland’s Desus & Mero, Rocket League pro gamers Team Rocket, DJ Peter Rosenberg of New York radio station Hot 97, and hip-hop artist Just Blaze, among other guests.
The Twitch live stream is sponsored by fast-food chain Carl’s Jr. Vice staffers will create and cut live commercials for the brand in between games, marking the first time live ads have been produced in a Twitch stream. Twitch is owned by Amazon.com, which acquired the game-broadcasting startup in 2014.
Waypoint is led by Vice group publisher Joel Fowler and editor-in-chief Austin Walker, who joined Vice this summer from CBS Interactive’s Giant Bomb. The gaming site will cover gaming and gaming culture and politics. Vice says Waypoint will differentiate itself from other video-game publications that focus on product cycles and reviews.
The gaming channel is one of a half-dozen that Brooklyn-based Vice has pegged to roll out this year, including a business and finance site headed by Matt Phillips, formerly with Atlantic Media’s Quartz and the Wall Street Journal.
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