Gaming Co-Streams Without OBS: Live Studio for Streamers
How gaming streamers can run co-streams, watch parties, and esports panels without OBS: using Live Studio for browser-based multi-streamer broadcasts that look broadcast-grade.
The Setup Most Streamers Are Stuck With
Gaming co-streams have always been a pain. Two streamers want to play together, share their game feeds, talk to each other, and broadcast to a combined audience. The traditional setup requires:
Both streamers running OBS independently
Discord or some VOIP for voice
One streamer "guesting" via NDI, browser source, or screen share
Custom scenes per streamer
Constant tweaking when something breaks
It's possible. It's miserable. Most co-streams that try this fail to launch.
There's a better way: run the co-stream from the browser, with your co-streamer joining as a Live Studio guest and screen-sharing their gameplay. No OBS. No NDI. No custom plugins. (On the Business and Enterprise plans you can also add an RTMP source to bring in a dedicated gameplay feed.)
Three Co-Stream Formats This Replaces
1. The Watch Party
Two or more streamers reacting together to a game release trailer, a pre-recorded video, or a tournament. Cameras on, gameplay/video full-screen, banter throughout. Only put video on screen that you own or have permission to stream. Tournaments often run co-streaming programs with their own rules, and platforms take rebroadcasts down.
2. The Co-Op Stream
Two or more streamers playing the same game together (Co-Op campaign, multiplayer match), each sharing their gameplay feed and on camera.
3. The Esports Panel
A host plus several panelists discussing a tournament, game patch, or competitive scene. No live gameplay, just camera + analysis.
All three are easy in Live Studio.
Live Studio Setup for Co-Streams
Step 1: Create the Stream
Create Live Stream → Live Studio. Pick a name (something like Friday Night Co-Op or Watch Party Live).
Landscape 16:9 for Twitch and YouTube. HD 1080p 30fps is the safe default. 1080p60 needs the 60fps add-on, on the Channel plan and up.
Step 2: Add Your Camera
In the Sources tab, click Camera. Position yourself for the layout you'll use.
Step 3: Invite Your Co-Streamer
In the Sources tab, click Invite guest, then Create invite link and Copy invite link. Send it to your co-streamer. They join in their browser, set up their camera and mic, and they're on your canvas.
Each link works once, for one person, for 24 hours. For multi-streamer panels, make a link for each guest. Free allows 2 guests, Creator 8, Channel 10, Business 20.
Step 4: Bring in Gameplay (Watch Party / Solo Game)
For a watch party where you're the only player or you're showing pre-recorded video:
Click Screen share in the Sources tab and share your game window, or a browser tab playing a video you have the rights to show
For a co-op where multiple streamers want to share gameplay:
Each co-streamer joins as a guest and clicks Share your screen on their guest page (desktop browsers; phones can't share a screen), available on every plan, OR
On Business and Enterprise, you click RTMP / WHIP in the Sources tab for each co-streamer and send them the Server URL and Stream Key for their OBS
The simplest setup: you share your own game with Screen share, and each co-streamer shares theirs from the guest page into the same Live Studio.
Step 5: Pick a Layout
For watch parties: Picture-in-Picture (gameplay/video full-screen, your camera in corner, co-streamer's camera in another corner).
For co-op: Custom layout with both gameplay feeds side-by-side and both cameras smaller.
For panels: Half Screen or Grid depending on number of panelists.
For more on layouts see Live Studio Layouts Explained.
Step 6: Add Branding
Brand the studio from its own tabs:
Look: channel logo (small, corner)
Text & Timers: a Lower Third or Ticker with the stream title (e.g., "FRIDAY NIGHT CO-OP, Episode 12")
Optional: click Chat feed in the Sources tab to put your live chat on screen
The stream keeps its scenes and branding, so reuse the same stream each week.
Step 7: Connect Destinations
For gaming co-streams:
Twitch: primary platform for most gaming audiences
YouTube: secondary, for replay value and discovery
Kick: growing alternative platform; many streamers maintain presence on all three. See Streaming to Kick.
Step 8: Go Live
Click Go Live. The stream broadcasts to all connected platforms simultaneously.
What This Replaces
If you're currently running OBS for gaming co-streams, this setup replaces:
OBS itself: no installation, no configuration, no scene-by-scene rebuild
NDI plugins: guests just open a link
Discord-as-audio: voice is built in
Manual layout switching: one click in Live Studio
The "going live with co-streamers" coordination dance: everyone's in one place
Co-streams that used to take an hour to set up now take five minutes.
What This Doesn't Replace
A few things OBS still does better:
Direct game capture with hardware acceleration. Browser screen-share is fine for most games but adds latency for fast-action shooters.
Plugin ecosystem. OBS plugins (visualizers, alerts, browser source extensions) are vast. Live Studio's Look, Text & Timers and Graphics tabs cover most needs but not all.
Standalone single-streamer setups. If you're playing solo and don't need any guest features, OBS may still be the simpler choice.
For most co-streams, the trade-offs strongly favor browser-based. For solo high-performance gameplay, OBS may still win.
Pro Tips
Use headphones: both you and your co-streamer. Always. Echo kills co-streams.
Test the layout in advance. Run a 5-minute pre-stream to confirm your gameplay feed and camera positioning work.
Have a "solo" layout ready. If your co-streamer drops, switch to a Spotlight layout with just you and keep streaming.
Put chat on screen. A small Chat feed source keeps the audience visible to you and your co-streamer.
Save the master recording. Turn on Record to library in the Settings tab (paid plans). Co-stream gameplay sessions become great VOD content.
What's Next for Gaming Streams
Live Studio's combination of browser cameras, screen share, and multi-platform broadcast covers most gaming co-stream scenarios. On the Business and Enterprise plans, RTMP source input adds dedicated encoder feeds on top. Specific game capture nuances may still favor a hybrid setup (one streamer running OBS for the game feed, that feed going into Live Studio as an RTMP source on Business+), but the trend is browser-native.
A reasonable two-streamer co-stream setup in 2026:
Streamer A: in Live Studio with their browser + screen share of their game
Streamer B: joins Streamer A's Live Studio as a guest, shares their game from the guest page
Both broadcast through Streamer A's connected destinations
Voice through Live Studio's built-in audio
No OBS. No Discord. No setup pain.
Get Started
Run a 10-minute test co-stream with one co-streamer. Just talk and play. See how it feels. If it works, you've replaced an entire OBS workflow.