It looks like the next frontier in streaming is interactivity, judging from Twitch‘s (Free) new Extensions and from Microsoft’s Mixer. As we talked about yesterday, Microsoft is hoping that allowing viewers using its Mixer app to interact with streamers with more than just chat will help it stand out among other streaming services, but barely a day went by and Twitch fired its own interactive broadside. Specifically, Twitch has introduced Extensions, new tools that allow streamers to make their channels more interactive. Specifically, extensions are interactive video overlays and panels directly integrated with the streams that will allow viewers to learn more about the game being played, enable viewers to vote on streamers’ next move in real-time, and much more.

For instance, there’s an Extension that lets you hover over Hearthstone cards to see its details, a great tool that helps viewers get more into the game and, also, give advice on what could be the best next move. These extensions are being developed by third parties, so it remains to be seen how many we’ll get and for what kinds of games. I’m excited to see streaming becoming more of a two-way street, and I’m pretty sure we’ll find ways to use these Extensions on our Twitch channel. What do you think of this push for interactivity? Sound off in the comments.