OBS provides update on Streamlabs media controversy

Last month, leading livestreaming software and tools provider Streamlabs was accused of copying promotional images, formatting, reviews, and even some key features of another platform after it announced the launch of web-based broadcasting studio Streamlabs Studio. 

When concerns about the blatant similarities between the two programs and the marketing arose, former employees and other companies in the streaming space followed up by highlighting instances of unethical practices from Streamlabs, including allegations from the Open Broadcaster Software (OBS) team, which works on and maintains the open-source platform. 

Now, more than a month after the initial backlash and Streamlabs going silent on all social media, the OBS team provided an update today on its portion of the controversy, with one of OBS’ most prominent developers Hugh “Jim” Bailey noting that there have been ongoing discussions between the Streamlabs and OBS teams over the last several weeks.

These talks centered around building trust and partnership through transparent conversation, according to a post from OBS, which have led to both sides agreeing on a plan to move forward. 

“Both of our teams have a shared mission to support streamers, and the industry is better when we can all work together,” Jim said. “We are happy to have Streamlabs support the project in the long-term so we can continue to build tools for the community. We would like to thank the team at Streamlabs for listening and taking immediate action to resolve the issues that led to the current situation. While past actions cannot be changed, we look forward to a fresh start.”

Streamlabs already noted it was going to immediately begin work to remove the OBS portion from its platform’s branding in a statement on Nov. 17, which has mostly been completed as the program is now called Streamlabs Desktop. 

In its first post on Twitter since Nov. 17, Streamlabs thanked the OBS team for its open discussions and hard work today, reiterating that the goal of the platform has always been to “serve creators.” 

Despite this, many people are still highly skeptical of the situation, asking what Streamlabs is willing to do to prove it is truly looking to serve creators. We will have to wait for further updates from the OBS or Streamlabs team to see just how this situation will be remedied, and how Streamlabs as a platform will recover.