How to Stream PC Games on TikTok LIVE (LIVE Studio vs OBS)
To stream a PC game on TikTok LIVE, use TikTok LIVE Studio for the fastest setup or OBS with a stream key for full control, capture your game, set up your audio, and go live. Once that works, add viewer interactivity so gifts and chat change what happens in the game.
Check that you can go LIVE first
Before you touch any software, confirm your account can start a LIVE from a computer. Requirements such as follower minimums and age limits vary by region and by account, and TikTok can change them, so check your own LIVE settings in the TikTok app rather than trusting a number from a blog.
Also pick a title and a few hashtags before you start. A clear title does more for discovery than most streamers expect, and the free LIVE title and hashtag generator can give you options in a few seconds.
Free LIVE title & hashtag generator →
LIVE Studio or OBS: which one to use
TikTok LIVE Studio is TikTok's own desktop streaming app. You log in, add your game as a source, and press go live. There is no stream key to copy, and it is the easiest route if you have never streamed before.
OBS Studio is free and much more flexible. You get proper scene switching, filters, plugins, and fine control over bitrate and encoding. The catch is that you connect it with a stream server URL and stream key from TikTok, and whether your account is offered those details depends on TikTok's current rules for your region.
- Pick LIVE Studio if you want the shortest path to going live and only need one or two sources.
- Pick OBS if you want several scenes, custom overlays, or detailed audio routing.
- You can start in LIVE Studio and move to OBS later; your account and audience stay the same.
Set up the stream in LIVE Studio
The flow is short, and the main thing to get right is the capture source. Game capture is usually better than capturing your whole monitor because it ignores notifications and other windows.
- Install LIVE Studio from TikTok and sign in with your account.
- Add a source and choose Game capture (or Window capture if the game is not detected). Start the game first so it shows up in the list.
- Add your webcam and microphone if you want them on screen and in the mix.
- Write your title, choose a topic, and check the preview.
- Press Go LIVE and watch the first minute from your phone to confirm what viewers see.
Set up the stream in OBS with a stream key
In TikTok LIVE settings you can find the stream server URL and stream key if your account has access to them. Treat the key like a password; anyone who has it can stream to your account. If it leaks, generate a new one.
In OBS, open Settings, then Stream, choose Custom as the service, and paste the server URL and key. Then build your first scene.
- In OBS, go to Settings, Stream, set Service to Custom, and paste the server and key.
- Under Video, set your output resolution to match your layout (see the next section).
- Under Output, use a hardware encoder such as NVENC or AMF if your GPU has one, so the game keeps its frame rate.
- Add a Game Capture source and set it to capture the specific window.
- Click Start Streaming in OBS, then start your LIVE in TikTok if it asks you to confirm.
If frames drop, lower the bitrate or the output resolution before you touch the game's graphics settings. A stable 30 or 60 fps stream looks better than a high-resolution one that stutters.
Vertical or horizontal layout
TikTok is a vertical platform and most viewers watch on a phone, so a vertical or near-vertical layout often keeps them watching. A common vertical canvas is 1080 by 1920. A horizontal 1920 by 1080 canvas also works, and TikTok shows it with bars on a phone held upright.
The practical trick for PC games is a hybrid: keep a horizontal game window, crop or scale it into the upper part of a vertical canvas, and use the space below for chat, a goal bar, or a webcam. That fills the screen and gives viewers something to look at besides the game.
In OBS, change the canvas under Settings, Video. In LIVE Studio, choose the portrait or landscape mode in the layout options. Whichever you pick, keep important text and HUD elements away from the very top and bottom edges, because TikTok's own interface covers them.
Audio that does not drive viewers away
Bad audio loses viewers faster than bad video. Keep game audio and your voice on separate tracks or at least separate sliders, so you can fix one without touching the other.
As a starting point, set your voice to be clearly louder than the game, and let the game sit underneath. Do a ten-second test recording and play it back on your phone speaker, since that is what most viewers will hear.
- Capture game audio with Application Audio Capture or Desktop Audio, not both, or the game will echo.
- Add a noise suppression filter to your microphone in OBS if your room is noisy.
- Mute music you do not have rights to; copyright strikes and muted streams are real risks.
- Watch your levels: peaks in the yellow are fine, red means clipping.
Build a few scenes
Three scenes cover almost every stream. A starting scene with your title and a countdown, a main gameplay scene, and a short be-right-back scene for when you step away.
Keep the main scene clean. Game capture, a small webcam, and one or two overlays is plenty. Every extra element is something a viewer has to read on a small screen.
Name your scenes clearly and set hotkeys in OBS so you can switch without alt-tabbing out of the game.
Add interactivity so viewers can affect the game
Streaming a game is passive for the audience. Interactive streams let viewers change what happens: a gift spawns enemies, heals you, launches you into the air, or changes the weather. That gives people a reason to send gifts and stay until the next one.
TikPlays is built for this. You map TikTok gifts to in-game actions on the TikPlays dashboard, and each gift triggers its action in real time. Follows, likes, shares and chat can trigger things too in many games. It works alongside LIVE Studio or OBS, so your capture setup does not change.
There are different kinds of games. PC game mods cover titles such as Minecraft, GTA V, Terraria and Granny. Some games run on dedicated or own servers, including BO2 Zombies, Palworld and Rust. Roblox games such as TikJump, TikRamp, TikRoad and TikCross are ones you join. There are also OBS browser-source arcade games like Gift Tower, Raid Boss, Flappy Bird and the Boys vs Girls team battle.
Setup is a dashboard link and, for mod games, an installer. There is no port forwarding. Overlays are links you paste into OBS or LIVE Studio as a browser source.
Extras that make a stream feel alive
Once the game is running, small additions help. A Windows desktop app can read gifts and chat aloud, and there is an AI co-host and sound alerts, plus gift-triggered PC actions. Goal bars, top-gifter and chat overlays, Spotify song requests and a giveaway wheel are also available as stream tools.
Start with one or two. A goal bar and gift text-to-speech are enough to make a stream feel responsive without cluttering the screen.
Overlays, Spotify requests and giveaways →