Twitch officially introduces the new CS:GO directory

This article was originally published on GameSpot's sister site onGamers.com, which was dedicated to esports coverage.

Today Twitch launched the first version of the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive directory, which allows users to sort by map and skill metrics.

"When we embarked on this project, one of the challenges was deciding which game details viewers found the most important", said Twitch's Senior Software Engineer Ben Swartz, and software engineer Josh Tabak. "We had a number of options, but were aware that more data is not always better. Too many search and filter options on a page bloats the interface, detracting from important information."

"We evaluated our options by looking for data which would help viewers find content, yet wouldn’t create contradictory incentives for broadcasters. For example, we considered using Kill:Death ratio, but decided against it because it might have encouraged broadcasters to game the statistic by playing against weaker opponents."

"In the end, we chose the Map and Skill metrics. Map is useful for players interested in learning. specific map strategies (or for the casual fan who simply prefers to watch Dust II games). Skill, on the other hand, helps surface newer but highly skilled CS:GO broadcasters who have just begun to build their Twitch audience."

In July of last year Twitch added the ability to link Steam and Twitch accounts at once. While it was initially used for item-drops in Dota 2 tournaments, the feature was extended for CS:GO tournaments, and has now helped create this directory.

"Harnessing the new technologies, we created a program which constructs a list of Twitch users who are streaming CS:GO and are Steam connected," said Swartz and Tabak. "We then match users on the list with their information from Steam's API about their game, namely Map and Skill."

Twitch says these advanced sorting features are right now only available to CS:GO due to the aforementioned Steam linking. Dota 2 is the only other game that may be able to benefit from this, but that there are no plans at this time, and that games such as Call of Duty, League of Legends, and StarCraft 2 cannot be featured as there is no service to connect Twitch with.

"We continually evaluate success and popularity of new features, and will consider rolling out similar functionality to other games," the Twitch team told onGamers. "Dota 2 is an obvious choice because of Valve's cooperation and existing account connection infrastructure, but there is nothing we can comment on at this time."

"We're looking into technical solutions that circumvent the account connection process, as anything that reduces barriers to entry for a feature like this will make it easier for everyone."