YouTube Gaming has enabled content authors and their fans to give paid subscriptions to channels. Influential streamers are already thrilled with the new monetization tool – many of them have already reported this feature on their Twitter accounts.

The feature was implemented following the example of Twitch – the main competitor to YouTube Gaming – where it is very popular. For many streamers, subscriptions is an important way to make money while building community.

YouTube has long shied away from implementing this feature. Just earlier this year, the company tested sponsorship as a gift on several channels in Japan. Sponsorship donations, still in beta, will now be available to all YouTube Gaming users in the U.S. and the UK.

Usually sponsors pay $4.99, which allows them to use badges, smilies and other exclusive content from their favorite authors. YouTube Gaming has already released several features similar to Twitch this year. For example, viewer redirection, which allows streamers to direct their viewers from a live broadcast to a premiere or other broadcast.

Twitch remains the largest live streaming platform in the United States. However, in recent years, several well-known streamers have switched to YouTube Gaming. Even more can do this in the future.

Twitch partners now receive less of their subscription revenue (50% instead of 70%) through the new monetization model. YouTube Gaming takes only 30% of streamer revenue from subscriptions. Although the platform does not have as wide an audience as Twitch, it can change that with the promise of better collaboration.