Sep 16, 2025 – At its Made on YouTube event, YouTube unveiled the largest upgrade to Live streaming in its history, adding new tools to help creators grow audiences, earn revenue, and keep engagement going long after a broadcast ends.

With over 30% of daily logged-in viewers watching live content in Q2 2025, YouTube Live has become one of the platform’s fastest-growing formats. These updates aim to make livestreaming more accessible and rewarding for creators of all sizes.

Helping Creators Get Started

Creators can now practice before going live, testing setups privately before launching to the public. For those looking for easy entry points, YouTube is also introducing Playables on Live—a library of 75+ lightweight games like Angry Birds Showdown, Cut the Rope, and Trivia Crack that can be played while interacting with viewers, with streams monetized like regular broadcasts.

Improving Discoverability

YouTube is rolling out three major features to boost visibility:

• Multi-format streaming: Broadcast in both horizontal and vertical formats at the same time, with a unified chat.

• React Live: Start a vertical livestream to react in real time to other live events or creators, turning streams into shared, social experiences.

• AI-powered highlights: Automatically generate the best moments from a livestream into ready-to-share Shorts, keeping engagement alive after the stream ends.

Expanding Monetization Options

To reduce disruption during streams, YouTube is introducing side-by-side ads, where ads play alongside live video instead of interrupting it. Additionally, creators with memberships can now seamlessly switch from public to members-only livestreams, offering premium experiences to paying fans without breaking the flow.

Why It Matters

By addressing pain points like discoverability, monetization, and content longevity, YouTube is positioning Live as a central hub for creator growth. The new updates—spanning AI tools, interactivity, and flexible revenue models—reinforce YouTube’s push to make livestreaming a core part of its creative ecosystem.

Image Courtesy: YouTube