Mixer Is Getting Into Reality TV With Stream Collider

Microsoft has interesting plans for its Mixer livestreaming service, according to a news article posted on the company's website today. An Xbox original show called Stream Collider has apparently been in the works, and will stream live for the first time this Wednesday, Dec. 5 at 6 p.m. PT.

What is Stream Collider, you ask? According to Microsoft, "Within each episode, Mixer's top streamers and pop culture's top creators will combine their talents (and their audiences) to compete in thematic challenges related to one of the hottest new game titles releasing on Xbox One." The first episode will pair chefs from YouTube's "Feast of Fiction" series with a Fallout-loving Mixer streamer in an attempt to cook meals from Fallout 76, both in a real kitchen and in the game itself.

Microsoft adds, "For the duration of the series, gaming fans can tune in to each episode, as we bring together popular streamers and creators from across the internet, featuring some of the best games available on the Xbox One today."

It's definitely neat that Microsoft wants to produce some more original content for Mixer, as its Inside Xbox program is usually fairly entertaining to watch. But just as that show was essentially a huge Xbox Game Pass commercial when it aired live at X018, it's tough not to adopt the cynical view that Stream Collider is yet another advertisement in show's clothing.

For starters – Fallout 76? Anyone who's reviewed the game would be the first to tell you that it's far from one of the best Xbox One games available. And the Mixer audience, which is widely comprised of Xbox One and PC gamers thanks to the service's built-in broadcasting on those platforms, doesn't seem like the target market for YouTubers who cook, even if they're cooking a dish from a video game.

It's wise for Microsoft to try and produce content for Mixer, which lags behind Twitch in a big way. But it's hard to see this going well. After all, it wasn't long ago that Microsoft set itself back an entire generation because it got a little too obsessed with TV, amongst other things.

Hopefully the company leaves the reality TV-type stuff behind and sticks strictly to games going forward.