Microsoft has released new Game Content Usage Rules that will allow Lets Players and Streamers to make money
It may have taken awhile but Microsoft has finally officially announced its stance on Lets Plays and streaming sites like Twitch, and its good news for these people because Microsofts new Game Content Usage Rules mean that they can make money, if they jump through some hoops of course.
These new rules state that “We’re encouraging you to create and redistribute your items,” and that “You may post the items on your own site or you may link to a third-party site containing your Items if you’d prefer to store them there, so long as the third-party site does not break any of these rules”.
In total there are 16 rules and while some of these rules like no pornography or discrimination are obvious, some of them like “Your Items may not use the name of the Microsoft Game in their title” make no sense. So if Lets Players and streamers aren’t allowed to put the name of Microsofts games in the title, how are people supposed to know what the video is about in a glance?
Besides this rule the following list of rules are of particular interest to those who plan to make Lets Plays or stream Microsoft contain:
- “You can’t sell or otherwise earn any compensation from your item, including through advertisements in the item. This means you can’t charge money in exchange for your item, post it on a site that requires subscription or other fees to view the item, or post it on a page you use to sell other items or services.”
- “You may make your item available on Youtube or Twitch and participate in programs on those sites that allow you to earn revenue from ads displayed in connection with your item.”
- “You may use the item on a page where you ask for optional donation requests.”
- “If you want to use the soundtracks or audio effects from the original game, we often license those from or to third parties and don’t always have the rights to pass them on to you. If we do, we’ll let you know. For example, we might mention on the community website for a particular game whether you have these rights, so you’d do well to check. If we don’t let you know, you need permission from a third-party, especially for games with licensed music. But we’ll confirm right here that the music from Halo 3 is available for your use in non-profit ventures thanks to an arrangement with O’Donnell/Salvatori, Inc, composers of this iconic theme.”
Finally Microsofts new Game Content Usage Rules also say that those uploading the footage have to post the following:
“[Name of the Microsoft Game] © Microsoft Corporation. [The title of your Item] was created under Microsoft’s “Game Content Usage Rules” using assets from [Name of the Microsoft Game], and it is not endorsed by or affiliated with Microsoft.”
Microsoft has released their new Game Content Usage Rules which will allow Lets Players and Streamers to make money from their content.
Original Source: CVG