Microsoft Corp. has acquired interactive live game streaming service Beam Interactive, Inc. for an undisclosed sum.

Founded in 2014 and launching in beta in January this year, Beam differentiates itself from live game streaming competitors such as Twitch and YouTube by offering near perfectly live streams that are also interactive in that those watching the gameplay can also participate in the play itself.

One example given is that while streaming Minecraft, with Beam users not just watching their favorite streamer play but can play along with them including the ability to create new challenges and make real-time choices that affect their gameplay, from tool selection to quests to movement, all through simple visual controls.

Under the deal Beam will be joining the XBox team at Microsoft, who wrote in a blog post that they were excited for having them onboard:

We at Xbox are excited about this convergence between playing and watching, and want to provide gamers with the freedom and choice to have great multiplayer experiences across all of Beam’s platforms. This acquisition will help gamers enjoy the games they want, with the people they want, and on the devices they want.

Beam Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Matt Salsamendi explained in a separate blog post that for the time being nothing would change with the service.

So what changes for you? Nothing right now; we’re continuing our focus on providing streamers with the tools they need to create the most interactive broadcasts around. Beam is designed to work with any game, and we’ll continue to offer broadcasts across all gaming platforms, just as we do today. As Beam becomes part of Team Xbox, you’ll see awesome new features, epic new interactive game integrations, and a huge influx of new community members!

Smart buy

While far from being a household name and with only 100,000 users, Beam is none the less a smart buy for Microsoft at a time televised gaming is going through the roof in terms of viewing numbers.

Beam itself has an interesting twist in terms of its interactivity, and while that will not always appeal to every one it is none the less a serious point of differentiation.

Prior to acquisition Beam had raised only $420,000 in seed capital from Courtside Ventures, Ore Ventures, and TechStars.

Image credit: Beam/ screenshot