How to Stream Games on Discord

With video games, however, it’s always been much harder to have people watch you play, as you can’t just invite them to your football match. Of course, services like YouTube or Twitch have made it much easier in recent years, but often even that is a bit too much work.

With the development of screen sharing, your ability to share your gameplay with friends has risen dramatically. The option to go live with the push of a button is one of the coolest things to exist, especially for people who spend a lot of time online.

This article will cover one of the easiest ways to screen share. The Discord app has made game streaming accessible to practically everyone. With such an easy and intuitive streaming system, there’s no reason you shouldn’t be streaming games to your friends today.

How to Go Live on Discord

Unlike the moderately complex process of streaming on Twitch, going live on Discord is very simple.

Discord streams can be games or any app or software you want to share.

How to Stream a Game

If you are playing a game and want to stream on Discord:

step 1

Open Discord and launch the game you want to screen share.
step 2

Join the voice channel you want to go live in.
step 3

In the lower left-hand corner, click the computer icon next to the displayed game.
step 4

Choose your preferred streaming options in the pop-up window and click the Go Live button in the bottom right.
step 5

If there is a LIVE icon next to your name, your game is now available for others in the channel to watch.

How to Stream CHROME BROWSER

Streaming your browser (or any specific app or software) requires a couple of steps, but is as easy as game streaming.

To start a Discord stream of Chrome:

STEP 1

Click the gear icon in the left sidebar next to your user name.
STEP 2

Scroll down in the User Settings menu to Activity Settings.
STEP 3

Select Registered Games.
STEP 4

At the top, click Add It! and select Chrome (or any app) from the drop-down menu.
STEP 5

Click Add Game.
STEP 6

If you are currently running Chrome it will appear at the top.
STEP 7

Click the “X” in the top right to return to the Discord server.
STEP 8

Chrome should now appear as an option to stream in the left corner, just like a game.

How to Share Your Screen

If you want to stream your PC desktop to show all the actions you are taking rather than a specific program, game, or app:

STEP 1

In the bottom left corner, click the Screen icon.
STEP 2

Select the application you want to stream.
STEP 3

Or select the screen (if you have multiple monitors).
STEP 4

Click the Go Live button to start streaming your screen.

How to Stop Streaming on Discord

When you are done streaming, simply click the Stop Streaming button in the bottom left. Or you can Click Stop Streaming on the voice channel.

Stream Quality Options

Discord offers a few different stream quality and frame rate options

The 720p resolution and the 15 and 30 fps options are available to everyone, while anything higher requires Discord Nitro boosts.

The video quality options allow stream quality to be based on what you want to highlight in your stream.

If you want to stream smoother gameplay, choose Smoother Video, while Better Text Readability is best for other apps, like Chrome or a text editor.

How to Stream a Game on the Discord Mobile App

Mobile gaming is very popular these days, and if you’d like to share your game activity with friends from the mobile app:

STEP 1

Open Discord on your mobile phone and join a voice channel.
STEP 2

Tap the camera icon on the left. This will live to stream your phone camera.
STEP 3

Next, tap the phone icon to the right of the camera.
STEP 4

Tap Start Now in the pop-up window to start screen sharing.
STEP 5

You are now sharing your screen!
STEP 6

Finally, swap to the app or game you want to share to go live on Discord.

How to Watch a Discord Livestream

Watching a Discord stream is easy. If you want to see what your friends in Discord are showing in their live stream screen share:

step 1

Join the channel they are streaming in.
step 2

Place your mouse over their user name.
step 3

In the pop-up window that shows up, select Watch Stream.
step 4

The stream should now show up in the Discord app.
step 5

To move the stream into its own window, find the Pop Out button in the bottom right.
step 6

To maximize the stream so the video takes up your entire screen, select the Full-Screen button in the bottom right.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Many People Can Watch a Discord Stream?

Currently, Discord has a viewer limit of 50 to watch Discord streams.

This is stated on their website as a temporary increase from the usual 10 people because more people are online due to the pandemic.

So enjoy the increased viewer limit while it lasts!

When Did Discord Release the Live-Streaming Feature?

Discord launched its streaming service in late 2019.

This feature was highly celebrated by the Discord user base and had been receiving constant improvements since it was added.

What is the Discord Stream Resolution?

The base streaming resolution available to all users is 720p.

If you want to stream at a higher resolution (1080p) or for the resolution to be based on the streamer’s PC (source), you will need to boost the server with Nitro.

You will also need to Nitro boost is you want your stream’s frame rate higher than the baseline of 30.