Twitch’s partner contracts will keep most livestreamers from also using YouTube Gaming

The world of live game broadcasting got a lot more crowded yesterday, and that is leading to some interesting situations for people who make money playing games in front of an engaged audience.

If you are a Twitch partner — one of the 11,000 people who has signed a contract to make money from your live broadcasts on that site — you likely do not have the legal option to also do gaming livestreams on YouTube Gaming. That’s because Twitch says it “typically” includes an exclusivity contract in its contracts with partners that says live gaming broadcasts can only happen on its site and not on competitors like YouTube, Hitbox, and others. Google launched its Twitch competitor yesterday (read our hands-on) — and that naturally brings YouTube into a head-to-head face off with the Amazon-owned video company, but Twitch’s head start may give it an advantage in terms of broadcasting talent.