What Is Twitch Prime and How to Get It

You may have seen advertisements or Twitch chatters proudly displaying the badge, but if you’re here, chances are you want to know more about Twitch Prime. Also known as Prime Gaming, Twitch Prime is a premium gaming membership program from Amazon and Twitch. But what does all of that actually mean, what are the real benefits of such a program, and how do you get your hands on it? We answer all of these questions and more below.

What is Twitch?

In case you’ve somehow stumbled upon this without already being a Twitch user, Twitch is a gaming-centered streaming platform where people stream live gameplay. Twitch streamers vary from the peak level of pro gamers to casual gamers who just want a more social experience, and there are a few non-gaming Twitch channels and streams, too.

If you’ve spent a lot of time on Twitch, chances are you’ve heard of Twitch Prime by now. If you haven’t, you’ll learn all about it below.

What is Twitch Prime? Is Prime Gaming different from Twitch Prime?

Twitch Prime debuted in 2016 as a premium membership for Twitch and was included with an Amazon Prime membership. Back then, this was a surprise – Prime was already considered an amazing deal on its own, after all. Since then, Amazon Prime has been bundling more and more services into its subscription beyond just the free shipping, and Twitch Prime was one of the leading examples of this.

As of mid-2020, the Twitch Prime service has now been renamed Prime Gaming but otherwise remains about the same in terms of features and benefits on offer.

Why would you want to get Twitch Prime/Prime Gaming?

There are many benefits to a Twitch Prime membership, but the most prominent for the Twitch community is a free sub to a streamer of your choice that comes bundled with the subscription. On Twitch, a Tier 1 subscription by itself costs $5, and about half of that goes to the streamer. (Higher Tier subscriptions cost more but also give about half to the streamer.) With a Prime Membership, you get a Tier 1 sub to give to a streamer of your choice at no extra cost, in addition to the many benefits listed below.

What are the benefits included in Prime Gaming?

Before dropping money and time into getting Twitch Prime/Prime Gaming, it’s important to know what benefits are included in Prime Gaming.

Thanks to an extensive number of partnered companies, you’ll see a lot of games and game-specific benefits with a Twitch Prime membership that can have a very real impact on how you play your games, especially the exclusive skins. The rotating nature of most Twitch Prime rewards also encourages frequent re-checks of the Prime Gaming page, just so you don’t miss out on any great drops or deals that come with your membership.

In addition to in-game benefits, you’ll see a lot of Twitch experience benefits, too. The following are all of the benefits included in Twitch Prime/Prime Gaming memberships:

• One free Tier 1 subscription to a Twitch streamer of your choice.
• Advertisement-free Twitch viewing.
• Extended Twitch broadcast storage (60 days instead of 14).
• Exclusive Prime Chat Badge and Emoticons.
• Access to a rotating pool of in-game loot. Loot is usually from popular online multiplayer games, especially shooters and MOBAs.
• Access to a rotating pool of free games. These can vary greatly from niche 2D indie hits like The Escapists to full AAA games like Alien: Isolation and the Devil May Cry HD Collection.

How do you get Twitch Prime? Is there a way to get it for free?

Twitch Prime/Prime Gaming is part of any existing Amazon Prime membership. If you don’t have Prime and have never had it, you should be able to get a free 30-day trial at either the Prime Gaming page or the Amazon Prime page. If you’re a college student, you can get a 6-month free trial by signing up on the Prime Student page.

If you’ve had a Prime membership before, you’ll need to pay to renew it at one of the three pages linked above. Unfortunately, beside the free trials for new users, there is no way to get Twitch Prime for free – you’ll need to pay for the best if you want the best!