YouTube Gaming Android and iOS app comes to Canada, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand

YouTube has introduced some modifications to its gaming site, allowing gamers to connect with fellow players and creators of games. It has also launched an iOS and Android mobile app in select regions.

The app is now available in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Ireland with plans to launch in other countries as well. "Many more countries are coming soon, so get ready," an official blogpost notes. The app is already available in the US and the UK.

In the latest update, the Google-owned video-sharing site has added a "mobile capture" and sponsorship feature to the Android app. With this, viewers can watch and even record live streaming gameplay on their mobiles.

The sponsorship feature is for viewers who want to support their favourite games and gamers. They can also "receive extra perks including a live chat badge" from the game creator, and chat exclusively with him/her.

"YouTube Gaming is built just for gamers, and we asked you to tell us how to make it the best way to connect with your community. Today we're sharing some new ways we're helping you find and watch awesome videos and live streams based on feedback we've heard," says Alan Joyce, Product Manager of Youtube Games in the blog.

The Android version also gets a mini-player in the app that can "pop out the YouTube Gaming player" and continue running the video above other apps running in the background. Now there is support for up to 60 frames-per-second videos and a DVR mode.

Homepage navigation has been simplified as YouTube has done away with the sidebars and replaced them with a top-down menu. The modified website also features a dedicated "live" tab for streaming top games and subscribed content.

Gaming is one of the major segments within YouTube, drawing over a million views. It recently announced that Agar.io's official YouTube channel had surpassed one million subscribers in less than seven months, becoming one of the fastest growing channels in the history of YouTube.

Other titles that have received such massive viewership include high-quality games like Minecraft, Grand Theft Auto, Call of Duty, League of Legends, Fifa, Five Nights at Freddy's, Clash of Clans, Garry's Mod, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Angry Birds and The Sims, Dota 2.
YouTube Games competes directly with Amazon's Twitch TV that claims to have over 30 million views every month.