The ESL CS:GO Pro League kicks off tomorrow and we’ve been hard at work together with Facebook’s games engineering team to create a great viewing experience.
Over the past weeks, Facebook has been actively collecting and implementing feedback and we're actively working with the community to get it where it needs to be. As such we encourage you to continue letting us know how we can improve. Below a quick update on core features, what's new since Genting, what's coming, and how to tune in.
What you can expect
CS:GO in HD: As introduced last season, all live broadcasts will stream in 1080p & 60 FPS. To change your HD settings, click the gear icon on the bottom right of the video to adjust resolution.
Watch without a Facebook account: No FB account? Not an issue. For those of you who don’t have an account or don’t want to watch logged in, we have a dedicated live site at: http://live.proleague.com. The link works both on desktop and iOS (Android is in the works), and has easy switching from A/B streams as well as languages. We suggest Chrome and Safari for the moment as Firefox still has some issues that are being worked on.
Quiet mode: Fans can now toggle 'quiet mode' during live streams to mute reactions and comments on both mobile and desktop. On Desktop this enables theatre mode for those who prefer that over Fullscreen.
General stability fixes: Facebook has made good progress on addressing stability issues and reducing stall rates which some users have complained about. Expect to see more improvements over time.
Search & discovery: A core reason for partnering with Facebook is to introduce new and bigger audiences to esports and our products. The current search and discovery still has lots room improvement, but is also one of the biggest priority topics that the Facebook team is working on. Searching for recommended streams has already gotten a lot easier and certain countries such as USA, Brazil & Malaysia already have aggregated content on www.facebook.com/gaming where users can find ESL video content in one place.
Team, player & streaming features: In addition to player specific features, Facebook is also working on creating a more robust streaming ecosystem. Teams have new cross-posting & sharing features which allow everyone involved in Pro League (ESL, teams and players) to more easily share streams & highlights on their pages and better reach more people. They also have the chance to benefit from the recent launch of FB’s new Gaming Creator Pilot program aimed at livestreamers, which introduced fan support monetization and will help drive the amount of content on the platform forward.
What’s coming
There are still many features that Facebook has in the works and will be rolling out in the coming weeks and months. Although the below features are a start, there are many more still in the pipeline which will be announced soon.
Clipping: One of the most important additions will be to again have clipping functionality for live streams. Facebook is working on adding the ability to clip and share CS:GO Pro League highlights with the community via a new clipping feature.
Full mobile support: Facebook is close to adding the ability to watch on m.facebook.com on both iOS and Android.
More ways to discover esports: We want it not only to be easy to find and come back to CS:GO matches on Facebook, but also to easily introduce new fans to the game. This is a key area of focus, and Facebook is working hard on adding more direct links and access points for enjoying CS:GO Pro League content on the platform. In the meantime we’ve put together an overview of the current status of where you can watch & how here: How to watch overview
We’re also working on constantly improving our live.proleague.com page, in terms of usability, mobile support and in regards to features such as allowing non-Facebook users to sign-up for notifications of matches. In addition we’re working on making sure streams can be found on HLTV, GosuGamers, Reddit, etc. with embedded viewing solutions where applicable.
We also have an email address for feedback and issues you can reach our CSGO team under and where feedback will be passed on to relevant parties: csgo@proleague.com
