Gamecaster No Longer Free Starting October 2021
I just got a spot of bad news for streamers today. Gamecaster will no longer be absolutely free starting in October! Unfortunately, this means I’ll have to rewrite several articles that I JUST published. Good times.
But, you know, I don’t really blame the owners for making this move. Sure, we all like free stuff. Yet, how often do we think about the people who make those free goodies?
Why Gamecaster Won’t Be Free
Originally, Gamecaster was part of the XSplit family of software. With a premium license, you could use both Broadcaster and Gamecaster without watermarks or having resolutions throttled.
In 2020, Gamecaster split off to become its own company. And as such, it needs to generate revenue.
That’s because there are developers and bills to pay to maintain a business dynamic. Otherwise, it’s no longer profitable and the company could sink.
The end result would be the loss of a potentially awesome streaming app.
People Often Expect Too Much From “Free”
So many people out there expect the world to be handed over on a silver platter without paying or working for it. Just look up any premium service in Google; the results are riddled with ways to hack and get free license keys.
But when you do things like that, you’re essentially putting developers out of work.
I know some people think they’re “sticking it to the man,” especially when cracking a premium license of something from a major publisher.
But in this case, it’ll literally cause the smaller developers to close up shop. You can’t keep the business going if there is no money to pay employees, overhead bills, licensing fees, and everything else a publisher faces.
Hell, even proper web hosting is going to cost a few bucks when you consider they’re probably using a VPN and pay well for their site design.
So, although it kind of saddens me to see Gamecaster move away from absolutely free, I do understand. After all, I’ve run a few businesses myself back in the day. I know how keeping the doors open works.
Before you complain too much, understand that they are trying to run a business. And the better they’re able to support themselves, the more innovations Gamecaster can roll out.
What Can You Expect from Gamecaster Now?
Even though Gamecaster won’t be absolutely free starting in October, it doesn’t mean that there isn’t a free version of the software. In fact, there really isn’t much that’s going to change from the free-user perspective.
Currently, the developers are making changes to:
Adding the Gamecaster Watermark
Currently, this is the only noticeable change for free users. The Gamecaster watermark is simply a message that states, “Powered by Gamecaster.”
You can change its size and position, so it won’t interfere too much with your stream or video. This is quite helpful as you don’t want the watermark to cover something important.
Still, if you want to get rid of the watermark, you need to upgrade to the premium service.
Triple the Gold Earnings
For premium users, you’ll be able to earn three times the Gamecaster Gold that is available. This means you can purchase the premium elements for your stream much quicker.
Personally, I’m looking forward to adding some of the “stingers.”
Being Featured in Discovery
Discovery is Gamecaster’s own platform for showing live streams. Other Gamecaster users can watch just as they could on Twitch or YouTube.
Now, everyone has access to Discovery while streaming. But, premium users will have greater opportunities to be seen.
All Premium Overlays
The Gamecaster overlays are some of the nicest designs I’ve seen. Not only that but the built-in stream alerts that go with them are designed specifically to fit the theme.
Premium Gamecaster users will have access to all of these overlays, while the free users will still have to pay for each one with gold.
So, If Not Free, How Much Will Gamecaster Cost?
At the time of this article, Gamecaster will run about $3.95 per month, or $29.95 if you pay for a year. This will give you access to things like having the special Discord role and channels as well as being able to participate in the Pro Affiliate program.
And the affiliate program should definitely pique your interest. You’ll earn 50% of all payments from your referrals. This is far better than most affiliate programs I’ve seen and used.
Since I already fork over $24.99 to XSplit every three months anyway, what’s another $30 per year? Especially since I am really interested to see just how far they take the streaming platform.
Gamecaster is Still In Development
The developers at Gamecaster are planning some very interesting things in the coming months.
Things like Clips, where you can instantly save specific moments of your stream. Or what about video management, where you can manage and upload your videos directly from Gamecaster to upload to Twitch or YouTube?
One thing I’m looking forward to is the Clip Editor. This is when you can edit your clips with voiceovers, gifs, music, and more. Anything that saves me from having to open Adobe Premier would be great!
Then, they are also setting up Gamecaster Link so you can stream video from your mobile games. Eh, I’m not a fan of mobile games anyway, so I really don’t care about this one.
But, I wonder if I can use it as a way to do some tutorials for other things. Perhaps showing how to use the mobile version of WordPress?
Huh, I might use it after all.
Gamecaster is Still Great, Even Without Being Free
Although the developers haven’t had as much time to flesh out the new design of Gamecaster compared to other platforms out there, it’s still a viable platform.
In fact, there are quite a few features that I like about it as opposed to OBS and Streamlabs. But, that’s all personal preference, really.
Everyone has their favorite streaming platform.
In any case, if you haven’t tried Gamecaster yet, you might want to jump on board before they start the premium plans. That way, you can at least get a feel for the system and decide whether you want the upgrade or not.
Personally, I’m probably going to pay for a year in advance. If nothing else, to give me some blog posts about it later.
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