Twitch tests new category layout and viewers have strong feelings on autoplaying video

pcgamer.com:

Twitch has rolled out one of its biggest changes to the site layout in years, though it is currently still in testing and so may not show for all viewers of the site (yet). The site has had various UI tweaks over the years, although the core design has remained pretty consistent, but the intent with this change seems to be boosting discoverability. What it actually means in practice, however, is now the hot topic among streamers and viewers.

So what has Twitch done: It's changed the category layout. When you click on a game or topic you're interested in watching a stream of, the site used to take you to a browsable grid view of all current livestreams, ranked by viewer count. The new layout replaces this with an auto-playing video of the current most-popular stream, which dominates the screen real estate, and a single line of other available streams can be scrolled-through at the bottom. Here's what it looks like(opens in new tab).

The first and most obvious bone of contention is autoplaying video. Boy do people hate autoplaying video and, yes, I realise the irony of these words. Twitch's thinking seems to be that, if someone's interested in a topic, the site should throw them right in there then let the viewer flick through their other options.

The most important thing to say, before getting to the reaction, is that Twitch's intention also seems to be that viewers can choose the more traditional layout if they wish. If you're using Twitch and get the new category layout, add /list to the end of the url to change back.

Optional or no, it almost goes without saying that a lot of people hate it. «Whenever I go to Twitch I don't wanna be 'thrown' into a random stream which is why I avoid the main page of Twitch like the