Azarus, a specialist in playable streams, has announced a partnership with Stream, an open platform designed to enrich digital content with live, interactive experiences. The collaboration aims to strengthen engagement between digital content creators and their audiences.
Innovative Technology and Business Model
Azarus is a pioneer in “interactive overlay” for streams and currently holds a pending patent approval for this technology. Interactive overlay uses existing broadcast standards and client-side tools to provide a smooth and engaging user experience without disrupting the primary video content.
Since its inception, Azarus has implemented this idea to deliver playable ads, sharing value with viewers and creators and distributing over $2 million in rewards.
Furthermore, the company has significantly impacted major Twitch streams, including game releases like Assassin’s Creed, esports competitions like the Capcom Pro Tour, and events like the Streamer Awards. At its peak, Azarus engaged up to 500,000 concurrent players and operates natively on Twitch as a partner.
Expanding Engagement and Community Interaction
Stream’s platform enhances content creators’ engagement by incentivizing audience attention, creativity, and content creation. The platform plans to extend its applications beyond playable ads on Twitch, connecting various streaming networks and providing an open foundation for interactive streams.
Stream is currently onboarding hundreds of streamers from esports teams and creator communities. With its overlay extension across different streaming platforms, Stream aims to activate a broad network of audiences. Additionally, the partnership can unlock new opportunities for streamers to earn rewards for their interactions and foster greater community engagement.
Alex Casassovici, CEO and founder of Azarus, expressed his excitement about the partnership: “We’re excited to see Stream 100x the potential of what Azarus kickstarted. By fulfilling the vision of an open, permissionless, and distributed way to build interactive content for streams, Stream will provide greater opportunities for creators to engage their audience and for viewers to hang out and interact with like-minded fans.”
Last year, Azarus was acquired by Animoca Brands, a leader in the Web3 gaming and Metaverse industry. Animoca Brands now holds a majority stake in Azarus, supporting its efforts to integrate live and interactive streaming into this new gaming frontier.
Alan Lau, Chief Business Officer of Animoca Brands, added, “Their interactive overlay technology and extensive experience in delivering engaging, playable ads have revolutionized how audiences interact with digital content. With Azarus on board, we are confident that Stream will reach new heights, transforming the streaming landscape and creating exciting new opportunities for creators and their audiences.”
With key partnerships with leading esports organizations TALON and Veloce Esports, and now Azarus, Stream is poised to elevate the streaming economy.