Ubisoft recently used Twitch Drops to provide interested users access to the technical test version of the Hyper Scape game. All you needed to do get the access was watch a Twitch Stream of the game with Drops enabled, and then be lucky enough. Let’s see what Twitch Drops are and what you need to know.
What are Twitch Drops
Twitch Drops is an appropriately named rewards program that gifts players with exclusive loot simply for watching the streams of their favorite games — a pretty good way to enhance the symbiotic relationship between the developer, streamer, and player. It’s also a great way for companies to draw the community to certain streams and alert them to new happenings, releases, updates, etc.
Twitch Drops can reward players with literally anything. It is entirely up to the developer. It might be skins, in-game items, currency, boosts — or something completely different, like an opportunity to take part in special, limited-time activities.
Types of Twitch Drops
Generally, the system is time-based, with viewers being rewarded either randomly or for watching official streams for a certain amount of time. There are also the occasional “Mission Drops” in which all eligible players viewing the stream are rewarded when the streamer completes a certain in-game task — a pretty cool way to passively participate by rooting for your streamer to win you some freebies.
How To Get Twitch Drops
This is a two-part process that involved first linking your Twitch account to the game developer’s account and then watching a channel with drips enabled.
Link your Account with Twitch
First, ensure your Twitch Account is linked with your in-game account, so the game has an idea of where to send your Twitch Drops. Do this by heading over to the developer’s site, and looking for a Linked Account options under your account settings. It might look something like this:
Simply log in with your twitch credentials to join your two accounts, and head back over to Twitch.
Find a Channel with Twitch Drops
Make sure they’re actually dropping. You will see a notification over the game in the directory as well as the channel itself, beneath the video, while viewing.
Just because the developer has Twitch Drops enabled, doesn’t mean every streamer or every viewer is eligible for the program. If Drops have only been enabled for specific streamers, it may not show in the directory or game pages, you will have to check individual streams.
The channel page itself will have a prompt beneath the Channel name for enabling Twitch Drops, and will often be tagged with Drops Enabled and have Drops in the title.
If you’re in a geo-restricted location, it may help to use a VPN in order to become eligible for drops.
It should be noted that you cannot gain extra drop-time by watching multiple drop-enable channels simultaneously — with your in-game account linked to your Twitch, the view-time remains synchronized and does not stack. Though it should be possible to use separate accounts to produce a greater yield of prizes, it depends entirely on the nature of the Twitch Drops in-game as to how much utility this tactic may provide — some developers justifiably prevent the in-game transfer of Twitch Drop rewards.
Games with Twitch Drops
Here is a list of games that are offering Twitch Drops right now, or very or recently.
Call of Duty
Call of Duty is running a Twitch Drops campaign from July 9th to July 16th that includes a free gun as one of its rewards. Players need only watch a drops-enabled Call of Duty channel streaming either Multiplayer or Warzone with a Twitch-linked Call of Duty account. The rewards are for 1, 2 and 3 hours and are a Censory Overload spray, Love the Bomb emblem, and a Bloodstream AR weapon blueprint respectively.
Recent Twitch Drops Campaigns
Hyper Scape
Update [July 11, 2020]: Not anymore. The program ended on July 7th.
Ubisoft’s brand new, sci-fi Battle Royale shooter is currently releasing Twitch Drops for its live Technical Test. Not every streamer has Twitch Drops enabled on their stream, so make sure to check the Channel’s title or use the list of official streamers at the bottom of Hyper Scape’s Tech Test announcement page.
One of the available prizes is the opportunity for players to participate in the tech test themselves and get a hands-on experience pre-release — a stellar reward for anyone interested enough to be watching the stream or anyone curious enough to get a feel for Ubisoft’s answer to Apex Legends.
The Tech Test is running from July 2nd to July 7th, and will feature the game’s squad-based Crown Rush game mode. No word yet on their solo-queue Dark Haze mode which features the trademark royale structure but with major limitations on sight.
Hunt: Showdown
Hunt: Showdown is an absolutely terrifying and ingenious mix of PvP and PvE elements from Crytek, the developers behind Crysis, that has players hunting down a bounty boss on a map and doing their best to escape with the prize before being themselves hunted by other players.
Currently, the game has a Twitch Drops Campaign running until July 6th in which players can win in-game currency, tools, and exclusive weapons and Hunters by watching the stream. Players can check the announcement page for a list of official streamers.
Other recent games that had Twitch Drops enabled:
- World of Tanks
June 27th
World of Tanks held a one day trial of the Twitch Drops program for their Tankfest 2020 event, giving players a variety of loot and even some premium in-game tanks. - Anno 1800
May 29th – June 8th
Ubisoft’s 19th-century strategy game held a Twitch Drops campaign in which players were given the chance to win a pair of in-game ornaments. - League of Legends
June 26th – September 13th
Following the success of their Valorant Drops campaign, Riot is giving the Twitch audience a chance to win prizes during the 2020 Summer Split. There is no time limit; Viewers need only watch matches during the LCS and LEC to witness epic plays and game-changing moments like a delicious pentakill to be eligible for Hextech keys, Hextech chests, and other prizes. The Summer Split will conclude with the finals on September 13th. - Sea of Thieves
June 3rd to June 17th
To celebrate the game’s launch on Steam, Sea of Thieves offered players free in-game loot for watching streams for a minimum of 30 minutes, as well as Mission-Drops when streamers completed their Daily Bounties. - World of Warships
April 17th – April 18th
The seaborne cousin to World of Tanks, World of Warships, reached 100k followers on its official Twitch channel, and in order to celebrate held a special stream in which viewers were eligible to receive a Supercontainer prize. - Escape from Tarkov
June 11th to June 22nd
Escape From Tarkov ran an extensive Drops campaign mid-june which gave stream-viewers a variety of in-game equipment. - Hunt: Showdown
29th to 6th June
The Hunt: Showdown drops campaign overlapped with Hyper Scape’s technical tests before ending on 6th June. Exclusive legendary heroes and weapons were available during the now-closed event. - Valorant
April 3rd – May 28th
The super-hyped Valorant closed beta ended on May 28th, and with it the Twitch Drops program that gave players a chance to participate in the beta before release. - Rainbow Six: Siege
20 May to 8 June
During the Rainbow Six: Siege European Open Clash event, Twitch drops were enabled from 20 may to 8 June and included a variety of apparel and weapon skin rewards.
And there you go! If you’re hyped for the Hyper Scape’s beta test or a huge fan of Hunt; Showdown’s white-knuckled survival horror, you know what you gotta do in order to get some exclusive rewards out of the Twitch Drop program! What are you waiting for?
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