Over at E3 Paradox Interactive have revealed their planned integration of TwitchTV into their upcoming title The Showdown Effect. While so far at E3 we have seen Nintendo reveal more on the WiiU and Microsoft and Ubisoft turn their events into concerts, this announcement from Paradox is perhaps the most relevant to expanding gaming communities.

TwitchTV is a video game broadcasting network where you can easily watch live-streams of various games at any time. The Showdown Effect, a multiplayer side-scrolling shooter which will include TwitchTV streaming options right from its main menu. The video below gives you a snapshot of how it will work in-game.

Paradox CEO, Fredrik Wester had this to say about the announcement:

“We wanted players to be able to easily broadcast The Showdown Effect directly from their computers since many of our games are already being streamed in a less turnkey manner. The Showdown Effect is a multiplayer game inspired by 80’s and 90’s action movies and packed with weird and wild weapons from frying pans and broomsticks to light sabers and shotguns; it really lends itself to a spectator driven medium like TwitchTV.”

I think this is a great link for Paradox, and shows that they are right on the cusp of inter-connectivity on the PC platform. This is also what E3 should be all about, new technology and ideas that gamers actually care about and will use. I think it is only going to be a matter of time until Valve use this service for DOTA 2 and CS:GO, or their own proprietary service.