How to use Mixer Create to stream iOS games to your audience

Microsoft's Mixer Create is out of beta but predictably on Apple's iOS devices, there are hoops to jump through.

Mixer Create on Android is a breeze to use. Because you're able to just record the entire contents of the screen whenever you like, broadcasting games to Mixer require nothing more than a couple of taps. And you can broadcast any of the games on your phone or tablet.

Enter Apple's iPhone and iPad. The platform is teeming with quality games, but you probably can't stream most of your favorites games to Mixer. At least not just yet.

Here's the lowdown on the what, the why, and the how.

Download Mixer Create from the App Store

Mixer Create and ReplayKit

To broadcast using Mixer Create on iOS before iOS 11 you need to be playing a game that first supports Apple's ReplayKit. Apple has ReplayKit available to developers to allow you, the app user, to capture content from within your apps or games. The trouble is, if the developer doesn't support it, then you can't.

And that also means you can't stream it using Mixer Create. Inside the app on iOS you have only one gameplay related control, and that's a slider to alter the balance of game audio vs microphone audio. One thing the iOS version has over the Android one, at least, is that it's able to pull audio directly from the app rather than relying on capturing the speaker audio with the phone's microphone.

However, as you'll see further down, thanks to iOS 11 all this is about to change.

So which games can I stream?

There aren't, it seems, that many titles out there that seem to support ReplayKit. A couple of big names do, though, like Star Trek Timelines and Modern Combat 5: Breakout.

Our buddies over at iMore have a roundup of the best games you should be playing that support ReplayKit.

Best ReplayKit games for iPhone and iPad

How to stream using Mixer Create right now

For the purposes of this guide, we'll be using Gameloft's Modern Combat 5: Breakout as the example. The steps may vary slightly from game to game, but the overall process should be about the same.

1. Launch the game on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap the broadcast button on the home screen.

3. From the popup window select Mixer Create.

4. Add a title for your stream.

5. Tap on start broadcast.

The nice thing about the integration on iOS is that you don't have to go back to the Mixer Create app to do anything. You can handle the broadcast from within the game environment.

When streaming either a game or yourself, you have the same options to control the resolution of your stream, or have the app handle it automatically, adjusting it to compensate for weak connections on the fly.

There might not be a huge range of titles right now, and that's disappointing considering how long ReplayKit has been around. But, assuming your favorite mobile game does, you can now share it with the world with minimal effort on your part.

Coming soon: Stream any games

Currently available to anyone in the Mixer Create beta program is the ability to stream any games, at least if you're running iOS 11.

Microsoft's boffins have reworked the app to be able to use the built-in iOS 11 screen recording feature. This means it'll work just like any console or PC game you stream to Mixer, and you'll be able to just capture what's happening on the display.

It's a neat workaround to add full functionality to the app that was sorely missing. Sadly, if you're on a device that does not run iOS 11, you won't be able to do this. There's no word yet on when it'll push out to the public, but we'll update this guide when it does. It makes everything much easier!

Download Mixer Create from the App Store

Updated December 12, 2017: We added details about changes coming to Mixer Create for iOS that are currently in beta.