How to Start Streaming Gameplay Live on YouTube Gaming – Step by Step Guide

YouTube Gaming is officially out today and thousands of gamers across the world started to stream their games live, which is watched by thousands of users again. YouTube Gaming is YouTube’s rival for Twitch, one of the most popular game streaming service.

The latest YouTube Gaming for Web, Android and iOS automatically pulls gaming related videos and live streams from the YouTube. Now if you are a gamer and wants to stream your Gameplay live on YouTube, this step by step guide will help you to know how to do. So, let’s get started.



How to Start Streaming Games Live on YouTube Gaming

Things Required to Stream Game Play Live on YouTube:

• YouTube Account enabled for Live Streaming
• Encoding software
• YouTube Streaming Server URL and Stream name / Key for configuring the streaming (optional)

Follow these steps to start streaming your first Game Play live on YouTube.

Step 1: Enable Live Stream on YouTube

First and foremost thing that you should do is enable Live streaming on your YuTube account. To do this go to https://www.youtube.com/live_dashboard and do the following.

Note: Make sure that you have verified your YouTube account with your phone number. Else you may need to verify your YouTube account first.

Click on Get Started button. If you have not verified your YouTube account then you will be redirected to account verification page. Select your country and select text me the verification code. Next enter your phone number and click on Submit button.



Now you should receive the verification code on your phone number. Enter your 6-digit verification code and click on Submit button again.

Once the account has been verified click on Continue button.

Next, click on I Agree button to agree to the terms and conditions.



Now you will be redirected to your Live Dashboard with a message saying “Congratulations! You have been enabled for live streaming”. The status of your Streaming will show as offline.



Step 2: Download and Install Encoding Software on your Windows PC and Mac

Before you can start streaming on YouTube, you need to download encoding software. The encoding software allows you to record or capture contents from your desktop, camera, microphone and stream it to YouTube Live stream. YouTube has listed some Live Verified encoding software on its support page. So, you can download anyone of them and install it.

Download anyone of the Encoding software given below.

• Elgato Game Capture HD60 – Windows and Mac
• XSplit Broadcaster – Windows
• XSplit Gamecaster – Windows
• Wirecast Play – Windows, Mac

For this guide, we will be using XSplit Broadcaster free version. Go to XSplit Broadcaster and download it to your PC. Once downloaded, proceed with the installation. During the installation if asked, confirm the installation of SplimediaLabs Sound, Video and con… installation by clicking on Install.



Once the XSplit Broadcaster has been installed, finish the installation and launch it.
Register an XSplit Broadcaster account by entering the details in the given field. Now you will receive a confirmation email in your inbox. Confirm your registration by clicking on the link. Once confirmed, continue with XSplit Broadcaster.

Step 3: Start Broadcasting / Live Game Play Streaming

From XSplit Broadcaster window, you have to add sources first. Sources such as, whether you want to record your webcam while streaming gameplay live, the desktop area you want to stream etc.

Screen Capture: Click on Add source and then select Screen Capture. Now scale the Desktop area that you would like to broadcast.



Web Cam Capture: Now if you want to capture something from the webcam like yourself, click on Add source and select “ Webcam, capture card, video devices” and select “Integrated Webcam”.



Now click on Broadcast, go to Add channel and select YouTube Live. Click on Authorize button and in the new window, you need to authorize your Google account associated with your YouTube Live account. So, enter your Gmail address, password and then authorize. Click on OK to save the settings.

Now when you are ready to broadcast or stream your gameplay or video, click on Broadcast and select your YouTube channel that you authorized in the previous step.



Select event, new or old. Enter a Title for your live stream. Next enter description, category, privacy and schedule if any.

Click on Start Broadcast button to start the broadcasting. Now wait until the broadcasting begins. The Offline button should turn to Starting and then finally to Live (in your YouTube Live Dashboard). Once it becomes Live , you are streaming your Game Play live on YouTube.



For stopping the Live streaming or Broadcast, click on Broadcast and uncheck YouTube Live streaming (in your encoding software).

I would recommend adding hotkeys or Shortcut keys for starting and stopping the broadcast. To do this click on Tools and select General Settings. Next, select Hotkeys tab, scroll down and add a hotkey or shortcut key for Star / Stop YouTube Live. Click on Apply and then on OK to save the Settings.



Your Broadcasted or Streamed gameplay or video should be saved as an archive in your YouTube account for later viewing. You can either keep it as public or private from Live Dashboard settings under Stream Options.

You can also monetize your videos from Monetization tab under streaming dashboard. You can also view how many viewers are online at the right side Analytics tab. Before you start broadcasting or streaming your gameplay videos live, make sure that you spend few hours learning how to use XSplit Broadcaster and other settings.

That’s it! Now you can live stream all your Gameplays to the world from your desktop through YouTube Gaming. Do let us know your thoughts in the comments below.