Polls and Channel Points Predictions have leveled up with Twitch API and EventSub support

Polls and Channel Points Predictions are two of our most popular community engagement tools for Twitch Partners and Affiliates. 

Polls — used to quickly identify viewer sentiment and make choices that impact stream content — are a fun, lightweight interaction that everyone on a channel can participate in. From our most hardcore viewers, who want a say in upcoming gameplay, to lurkers who enjoy the anonymous interaction, Polls appeal to a wide range of viewers and help creators keep their content fresh and relevant.

Predictions allow viewers to use their Channel Points to back one of two forecasted options, with the chance to win points from the pool if their guess is correct. Since the feature’s debut in December 2020, millions of viewers each week have put their points behind the blue side or the pink side (or as we’ve seen many times — Believers or Doubters). Running a Prediction during a high-stakes moment is sure to get Chat going, especially as temporary badges help viewers identify their team and spur light rivalry.

Now that Polls and Channel Points Predictions have become an integral part of the broadcasting and viewing experience, we’re pleased to make this functionality generally available through the Twitch API and EventSub as of today.  By providing a programmatic way to manage Polls and Predictions, developers can leverage their innovation and creativity to provide a wide range of unique interactive experiences for the Twitch community.

Developers and broadcasters will certainly discover more ways to take advantage of these APIs than we can imagine, and that’s part of the excitement. To make sure these new APIs were reliable and met the community’s expectations, we released this functionality earlier this month as a public beta.  During this timeframe, developers were able to familiarize themselves with the endpoints and provide feedback regarding any changes or future improvements to consider. Let’s take a look at some ideas that have popped up.

An unofficial statistic we like to use around here is TTM, or “Time To Minecraft.” When new Twitch developer products become available, they are inevitably integrated into Minecraft quite quickly, and the Polls and Predictions APIs were no exception. Here’s a great example from thefyrewire that shows how Polls can be leveraged programmatically for an audience to affect in-game events.

Programmatic Channel Points Predictions can be very useful as well for providing a deeper immersion and friendly competition among viewers. Take this Tweet from therealhellcat for example.

Viewergames Arcade is a racing game designed to be played with the broadcaster’s audience, so being able to predict winning outcomes only fuels this friendly competition more and keeps the audience engaged. It’s easy to see how this idea can be applied more broadly; imagine game developers programmatically starting a Prediction when the broadcaster enters a boss battle or when the game detects the broadcaster is close to fulfilling an achievement.

These are ideas that broadcasters and their communities have been able to dream up in just the first few weeks of the public beta. We can’t even imagine what you will build in the coming months and years. To start developing with Polls and Predictions, refer to the API reference for actions like starting a poll, and refer to the new EventSub subscription types to receive related events as they occur. And we continue to welcome your feedback via the developer category on UserVoice.

While we cannot predict exactly what you’re going to build, we unequivocally know that the Polls and Predictions APIs will help you deliver some of the most clever and unique interactive experiences for the Twitch community.