• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
Tech

Why Twitter Just Added a Gaming Vertical

By
John Gaudiosi
John Gaudiosi
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
John Gaudiosi
John Gaudiosi
Down Arrow Button Icon
January 21, 2016, 10:36 AM ET
Riot Games

Twitter recently hired Rodrigo Velloso as director of gaming partnerships for the company’s media team, which works with partners around the globe. This move comes as the company has added gaming as one of the key verticals, which include movies, sports, news, government, talent, and TV.

“Gaming is a top interest alongside those other verticals,” Velloso says. “Twitter users are 72% more likely to talk about gaming than the average Internet user.”

Twitter (TWTR) launched the @TwitterGaming handle on Jan. 13 as a new way to aggregate video game content. That handle has amassed over 118,000 followers. As of September 2015, Twitter has 320 million active users.

Velloso says his team is working with the top Twitter gaming accounts, which includes publishers and game developers such as Electronic Arts (EA) and Activision (ATVI), platforms such as Twitch and YouTube, game media such as IGN and GameSpot, event producers such as E3 and PAX, content companies like Rooster Teeth and Machinima, gaming personalities such as PewDiePie and TotalBiscuit, and eSports leagues, teams, players, and commentators.

“It’s more about enhancing the conversations that are already happening, rather than creating something separate,” Velloso says. “The gaming community already uses Twitter.”

For more on what Twitter’s up to, watch:

Velloso says his team’s focus is on highlighting the best tweets from those gaming groups for the entertainment of the people following the account.

“It’s us directly joining that conversation,” Velloso says. “It’s applying what we know and the resources we have from other verticals to gaming. Additionally, the effort is connecting with the partners in this space and understanding their needs and developing specific tools, features and know-how to help them engage in better conversations.”

Velloso says eSports has been a major focus for his team because that gaming community already uses the platform to communicate in real time as they watch livestreams of tournaments and competitions.

“Just like the sports conversation happens in parallel as a second-screen experience to TV, we also see Twitter as a second-stream experience to live eSports events,” Velloso says. “It’s an incredible tool for eSports teams, casters, and pro players who use it to connect with their fans.”

Velloso says his team is working with companies such as Riot Games, the Tencent(TCEHY)-owned developer behind the most popular eSports game in the world, League of Legends.

During its All-Star event in Los Angeles Dec. 10-13, Riot used a live Q&A app developed by the Twitter media team for shoutcaster Zirene to answer 10 questions from fans.

ESL used Twitter Mirror at the Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) San Jose competition Nov. 21-22. That app was downloaded on a tablet and mounted backstage with lights for pro gamers to tweet out selfies and GIFs before they went on stage to compete.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

SnappyTV, which helps users generate clips and highlights from livestreams and share them in social media, is another tool his team is using, Velloso says.

Twitter last month launched the Vine Gaming channel, which Velloso says adds yet another tool for gamers to share their experiences.

“It’s about enhancing the gaming conversation with whatever media tools we can offer—pics or GIFs or recorded video or live video or polls or other functionality—to make that conversation more vibrant and interesting to follow.”

About the Author
By John Gaudiosi
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
Fortune Secondary Logo
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

Form Energy CEO Mateo Jaramillo is pictured at Form Factory 1 in Weirton, West Virginia.
Energybatteries
Google is building a bevy of renewable energy in Minnesota—including the world’s largest battery system providing power for a whopping 100 hours
By Jordan BlumFebruary 28, 2026
16 minutes ago
sam altman
AIOpenAI
Sam Altman tells staff at an all-hands that OpenAI is negotiating a deal with the Pentagon, after Trump orders the end of Anthropic contracts
By Sharon GoldmanFebruary 27, 2026
10 hours ago
Future of Workthe future of work
Have good taste? It may just get you a job during the AI jobs apocalypse, says Sam Altman
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezFebruary 27, 2026
10 hours ago
CybersecurityMeta
Trump’s FTC backs off social media regulation despite finding that nearly 20% of America’s children are online for 4 hours or more
By Catherina GioinoFebruary 27, 2026
10 hours ago
Emil Michael smirks
AIAnthropic
Emil Michael, the Silicon Valley exec turned Trump official leading the war against Anthropic, has deep ties to the tech world
By Lily Mae LazarusFebruary 27, 2026
10 hours ago
AIMilitary
Trump orders U.S. government to stop using Anthropic but gives Pentagon six months to phase it out while Hegseth adds supply-chain risk designation
By Jason MaFebruary 27, 2026
11 hours ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Innovation
An MIT roboticist who cofounded bankrupt robot vacuum maker iRobot says Elon Musk’s vision of humanoid robot assistants is ‘pure fantasy thinking’
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezFebruary 25, 2026
3 days ago
placeholder alt text
Commentary
'The Pitt': a masterclass display of DEI in action 
By Robert RabenFebruary 26, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Japanese companies are paying older workers to sit by a window and do nothing—while Western CEOs demand super-AI productivity just to keep your job
By Orianna Rosa RoyleFebruary 27, 2026
17 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
It’s more than George Clooney moving to France: America is becoming the ‘uncool’ country that people want to move away from
By Nick LichtenbergFebruary 27, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Jeff Bezos says being lazy, not working hard, is the root of anxiety: ‘The stress goes away the second I take that first step’
By Sydney LakeFebruary 25, 2026
3 days ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Walmart exec says U.S. workforces needs to take inspiration from China where ‘5 year-olds are learning DeepSeek’
By Preston ForeFebruary 27, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.