Twitch and Streamlabs teamed up to make Xbox streams look better

Streamlabs has teamed up with Twitch to help streamers improve broadcasts from an Xbox — without the need for a capture card. The web-based Streamlabs Studio will let streamers customize their broadcasts with widgets and overlays, such as a chat panel or live stream alerts.

"Live streaming gives viewers unprecedented access to their favorite creators. Real-time viewer engagement via chat and alerts create incredible shared experiences," Ashray Urs, Streamlabs' head of product, said in a statement. "In the past, creating professional broadcasts and engaging viewers from a console has been challenging. With Streamlabs Studio, you can transform console gameplay into a high-quality live stream production with viewer engagement tools to interact with your community."

Typically, Twitch streamers who broadcast their console gameplay have had to run the video through a PC with the help of a capture card if they want to add bells and whistles like onscreen donation alerts or custom layouts. Xbox owners can now select "Streamlabs" as a destination in the Twitch app and log into the Streamlabs Studio website to customize their stream. The site works on mobile and tablets, so you don't even need a PC to personalize your stream or switch between preset scenes.

What's more, you can use your smartphone or tablet as a webcam and layer that into your stream. Streamlabs Studio can also capture audio from a headset plugged into a controller or video from a webcam that's connected to an Xbox and include those feeds in broadcasts.

Streamlabs Studio isn't free — it costs $5/month or $50/year. However, it could help Twitch streamers who don't have a capture card or capable PC to make their broadcasts stand out from the pack.

Meanwhile, Microsoft is currently testing an option that makes Twitch streaming easier on Xbox consoles. It brought the Console Live Streaming feature to Xbox Insiders on the Alpha Skip-Ahead ring last month.