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How Far Will Livestreamers Go To Broadcast Banned Games?

2K View2023-05-16

Can you tell what game the streamer is playing as soon as you enter the livestream? At first glance of the flashy channel, most savvy FPS fans would instinctively assume that the streamer is broadcasting the latest installment of the Battlefield series, 2042, as evidenced by the skyscraper map and UI in the lower right corner.

However, upon closer observation, you'll notice that the streamer appears to be just AFK in a private server in 2042, while the actual live stream content is Rainbow Six Siege secretly displayed by the jumbo screen on the skyscraper. How did regular game streams end up like hide-and-seek contests? Let’s turn back time to the year 2018.

It was a time that saw Rainbow Six Siege flourish in the Chinese market, and was also a year of close collaboration between Ubisoft and Tencent, one of China's largest technology companies. As Ubisoft's major investor, Tencent has always had the idea of bringing excellent foreign games into the domestic market. It seemed like a natural decision for Rainbow Six Siege to have its own servers in China.

Ubisoft even changed some icons and decorations in the game for the review from Chinese government

However, just as everything was prepared, Rainbow Six Siege unexpectedly failed to pass the import review by the Chinese government. As a result, the game completely disappeared from major livestreaming platforms and became officially banned until it could pass the review and have servers established in China. Even today, five years later, news of Rainbow Six Siege's Chinese servers is still uncertain.

This undoubtedly dealt a heavy blow to the previously stable development of Rainbow Six Siege's Chinese market. Most Chinese streamers who played Rainbow Six Siege shifted to Twitch, and only posted reminders about their broadcasts on domestic platforms along with a link to their Twitch stream. However, some rebellious streamers and viewers started to secretly stream and watch Rainbow Six Siege, playing a comical game of hide-and-seek with the regulators of Chinese livestreaming platforms.

At first, attempts to secretly stream Rainbow Six Siege were unsophisticated. Players usually tried to evade the watchful eyes of regulators by shrinking the game window and placing it in an inconspicuous location. However, this method was not very effective, as the game was the only dynamic element on the entire screen and was easily spotted.

After initial attempts failed, streamers started to try new methods. They put the Rainbow Six game screen into video editing software and pretended to be livestreaming the editing of videos.

Some also overlaid the UI of other games on top of Rainbow Six, pretending to play a different game.

The UI includes Overwatch, Crossfire, Apex Legends, LoL, Game for Peace...

Some even directly hid the Rainbow Six game screen in other games, and unless observed carefully, no one could tell that the streamer was actually broadcasting Rainbow Six.

This method of hiding proved to be the most effective, as most regulators wouldn't closely scrutinize the small details on the screen, and games whose elements were used as a disguise were not prohibited, making it seem legal and compliant.

To achieve the camouflage effect, streamers often let Rainbow Six Siege run within the game they used as camouflage and added words like "I'm eating/resting/getting a delivery" on the screen. All while they were playing Rainbow Six Siege hidden within the AFK game. As a result, players often joked that regulators would treat any screen that showed the words "I'm resting" as a Rainbow Six Siege stream.

The words read: “I’m AFK eating”, and the R6 screen is hidden in the lower right corner.

This kind of Rainbow Six live streaming is not ideal in terms of viewing experience. Due to the small size of the hidden game screen, even when enlarged to the maximum, it is difficult for viewers to see the details of the game. Streamers and players are doing this more in silent protest and in an effort to promote the game they love.

The whole situation changed when Bilibili streamer Inklaw, who had constantly been trying new methods to stream Rainbow Six, brought about a technological revolution. He used a raster encryption method to encrypt the entire stream into black and white stripes, and only by entering a specific password using Snipaste software can viewers decode and watch the stream normally.

This streaming method can be said to be the culmination of Chinese Rainbow Six streaming, with both excellent concealment and viewing experience. After this method appeared, China's Rainbow Six pro player Ayzbl also used the same method to stream Rainbow Six on Bilibili after a long absence.

The pinned content has been changed from the original Twitch livestream address to a tutorial on how to decrypt and watch the livestream on Bilibili.

Azybl's return to livestreaming on BiliBili undoubtedly excited many people, and there was a lot of discussion around regulators not being able to stop the livestreams. Some people have speculated that Rainbow Six Siege's Chinese version may finally be coming. One comment was particularly memorable: “No matter what the live broadcast screen looks like, as long as the streamers are still playing and the viewers are still watching, the Rainbow Six live broadcast will always exist.”

Sources:

正义的伙伴阿(Streamer)

Disguised Rainbow 6 stream (from 北极熊的企鹅dd)

Aiden Pearce hacked my stream and playing Rainbow 6 (from 丨沉默丿)

Visual encryption streaming (from Inklaw)

Stream Rainbow 6 in Anno 1800? (from 阿叉宝Rom)Streaming Rainbow 6 in Boundry agent's badge (from overwolf233)

Using Adobe Premiere as cover (from 暴躁蛙肉)

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