Twitch is getting a much-needed update to the way live broadcasts are recorded on the platform, as archived videos will finally include messages posted to the chat during the stream.

“Over the next few weeks we will be rolling out Chat Replay, a new feature that brings the excitement of Twitch Chat to recorded videos,” Twitch announced on its blog. “Now, when you watch a recorded stream or highlight, the chat from the live broadcast will show up right next to the video. Never again will you wonder which moments had the chat going wild or what messages your favorite broadcaster is responding to.”

“With Chat Replay, you can fully immerse yourself in the Twitch viewing experience and relive the best moments from broadcasts exactly as they happened live.”

According to Twitch, the site has already started capturing chat messages during broadcasts, and it will be adding those messages to recorded videos in the coming weeks.

How it works

When watching a recorded video, the chat from that stream will be displayed alongside the video just as if you were watching it live, complete with all of the emotes, badges, and other notifications that occurred during the stream.

The key difference between live and recorded chat, however, will be the way deleted messages and bans are handled.

While watching a live broadcast, deleted messages are briefly visible until they are removed and replaced with a “<message deleted>” placeholder, but users are still able to view the messages by clicking on them. In recorded videos, the placeholder will still appear, but you will be unable to click on it to see the original message.

Chat moderators will also be able to delete messages from the recorded video after the fact, so there will be no worries about being unable to remove unwanted comments.

Image courtesy of Twitch Interactive Inc