PS4 users will be delighted to know that they can now stream Twitch videos natively, rather than accessing the site through the console's web browser. This has been made possible by the new dedicated Twitch streaming app for PS4.

According to the PlayStation Store, the free app only weighs 51 MB and let gamers watch broadcasts of their favorite games as well as chat with the players they are following.

Highlights of the new Twitch app for PS4 include:

  • Live and recorded video of top games, players & esports events
  • Chat with broadcasters and their communities
  • Ability to follow channels and games you want to keep tabs on
  • Special section to highlight PlayStation broadcasters

PS3 and PS Vita users shouldn't fret since Twitch.tv indicated the app will make its way to older-gen Sony consoles "later this fall."

The app is currently available for PS4 gamers in the U.S., Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay and Uruguay. It will then launch in Asia, Europe and other regions shortly.

The rollout has been a long time coming for PS4 users, given the fact that it has already been a year since the Twitch app was introduced on Microsoft's Xbox One. Furthermore, Twitch's delay on the PS4 paved the way for YouTube to have leverage on the console.

Despite the PS4 having a dedicated YouTube app since 2014, it was only last month when the video streaming giant debuted the ability to stream live gameplay footage directly to YouTube.

Twitch could not have chosen a better time to introduce its own native app for PS4, lest allowing YouTube to pick up steam with the PS4 crowd.

According to a 2014 study by Internet infrastructure company DeepField via OnGamers, Twitch ranked as the fourth largest source of network traffic during the primetime hours in the U.S. The upstart was only behind big players Netflix, Google, and Apple.

The success can be attributed to the platform's over one million active users, who continue to boost traffic across the web.

"When video game historians look back on gaming a decade from now, 2013 will be the year they cite as the tipping point of streaming," Twitch vice president for marketing Matthew DiPietro said at that time.

"Every major event, publisher, developer, and media outlet in the gaming industry had a presence on Twitch, and streaming became an ever-present piece of the gaming experience. And it's only going to get bigger."