Twitch just invented this animated emoji that costs $140 to use once - CNET

Twitch is testing a new way fans can pay broadcasters, called "cheering," that lets viewers punctuate a livestream's chatroom with an animated emoji that can cost as much as $140.

Twitch, the Amazon-owned service to broadcast and watch people playing video-games live, is introducing "Bits," a sort of currency that users can bank up to unleash these special "emotes," the service's term for its own lexicon of emoji.

The broadcaster gets the majority of the money that emote cost the viewer to use, the company said, creating a new tipping system. (Fans already have the option to pay for a subscription that unlocks special benefits with a particular broadcaster, and they can donate money to them through Twitch too.)

Twitch users can test it out by typing "cheer" in chat followed by a number representing how many Bits it costs. That can range from a single-Bit emote worth less than two peies to a 10,000-Bit emote that costs $140 to drop once. Higher numbers mean flashier emotes. Bits can be purchased through the Bits icon at the bottom of the chat window, and they cost $1.40 for 100. If you "cheer" often and loudly, you can ea special badges that make you more visible.

The feature is limited to dozens of the site's 1.7 million broadcasters, but it will eventually be rolled out on a broader scale, the company said in a release.

The full list of participating broadcasters is on Twitch's blog.