In the world of live streaming, there are now several interesting platforms, with good and perhaps somewhat less good aspects; here we want to focus on Trovo. What kind of platform is this?
What exactly is this Trovo?
A live streaming platform that launched from beta in 2020; in the midst of a tense global time; founded by Tencent and the current CEO is Dave Zhou.
Trovo offers live streaming options for streamers and viewers, for mobile and desktop versions; and was initially known as Madcat and enables the easy streaming of gaming apps on smartphones/iPhone directly to the platform.
Similar to Twitch, Trovo is structured; there is the actual live stream, the chat area directly next to the stream channel of the streamer, and below panels where the streamer can add information, partnerships, notes, chat rules, etc. Categories, the viewer count, an adjustable age restriction. There is the option to follow the streamer there, to subscribe for a fee, etc.
What makes Trovo different?
In short, a lot; here you'll find our informative selection of relevant points.
Games
Trovo features a type of idle-clicker games designed to boost activity; with in-game challenges that can relate to the respective stream channel.
You fight with your character, for example as a stream channel, together against an evil force or you save the streamer.
There are:
- Battleground — you upgrade your own armor equipment (weapons, armor, pet, vehicle, etc.), you fight against enemies but also against other players in,
- Call of Heroes — you outfit a team of several fighters, improve the equipment, you also compete against other users
- Abyss Voyage — on a ship you explore the depths of the ocean, collect resources by clicking or viewer interactions and upgrade your equipment to unlock new areas and discover more powerful treasures. (In our test the servers were full, so we couldn't test it.)
- Land Conquest — a strategy game; you conquer territories, collect resources and improve your equipment through viewer interactions or clicks to expand mastery in this strategic clicker-idle game.
Streaming quality
Unlike on Twitch, it is possible to stream with a bitrate of up to 10000 Kbps, which means significantly better quality; and for the viewers an even better, more detailed viewing experience.
So-called Spaces
Screenshot, 2025, trovo.live
Screenshot, 2025, trovo.live
Screenshot, 2025, trovo.live
With a kind of community area with its own chat sections, Trovo differs greatly from Twitch in this respect.
Separate chat areas; own customizable roles with badges, with selectable name color, with role description when you hover over it with the mouse, or tap. A good way for streamers to interact with the community, to engage, and to give it its own touch, even after the stream, for example for stream preparation or for polls.
Additionally creatable categories for those chat areas; with adjustable rules, who may write in them; or additional panel areas.
In the mobile version there is also a voice chat option for this. It is not known if this will also appear for the desktop version.
You don't necessarily have to refer to external messenger apps; you can have everything in one place.
What is this PK Arena?
A mode where selected or randomly chosen streamer channels can duel (they can talk to each other, hear and see each other) and whose community of a channel spends the most Elixirs and thus achieves PK Arena points wins. This resembles a little TikTok live-stream duels.
This mode is configurable and there are also special Spells when you are in such a PK Arena.
Many ways to support the streamer
On Twitch there are Bits and subscriptions; on Trovo there are Mana, Elixir and also Subs; and much more.
What is Mana?
Screenshot, 2025, trovo.live
A free currency on Trovo, which you get by watching the stream, interacting in the chat, and spending Elixirs, and can be spent as Spells in the chat to support the streamer, and to boost interaction on one hand, but on the other:
It fills the Boost Project area in the form of a rocket, and when you reach 50,000 Mana points with it, the streamer can boost the channel through this support. This helps the stream channel land in the Boost Space and effectively promote the channel briefly to attract new viewers.
What is Elixir?
A paid currency that you can also spend while watching the stream through Elixir Spells, which financially supports the streamer and can level up the Space — a kind of leveling system — to unlock more features for the stream channel. From more chat rooms, more emotes, more custom roles and their capacities, more Supermods, longer storage and availability of the stream VOD storage and of clips.
There are countless Spells for Elixirs.
The viewer can also obtain more through additional features such as Fortune Spin, Lucky Forge, which are somewhat like a loot-box system; but with Elixir you can also buy and gift Subs. More ways to support the streamer.
Is there a membership?
Trovo also offers a monthly membership Trovo Ace (with different tiers), which is more aimed at viewers:
- exclusive emotes
- exclusive Elixir Spells
- Chat Entry Effects (a kind of effect/special visualization when the viewer enters the chat)
- upload and use your own emotes
- an animated profile area when you open the profile
- animated profile picture
- more mana entitlement
- a special badge
- more Elixirs when loading Elixirs
This membership, like much on the platform, is managed via a leveling system and whenever you as a viewer purchase Elixirs, the bar in the Ace area fills up, and with that you can obtain the Ace membership at a lower cost.
The user can earn rewards by inviting others with a kind of invitation code in Ace Invitation — just like in other areas, additional rewards are obtained; if new people sign up on Trovo via your own link, complete an Ace membership or more; the rewards range from Subs you can give to any streamer to Elixir rewards.
Subscriptions
Viewers can purchase paid subscriptions to support the streamer. In a total of 3 tiers, which can be personalized by the streamer through additional Perks, such as emotes, badges and more. For example, subscribers can pause the stream, rewind and are exempt from the throttling mode (the number of chat messages in the chat is limited).
Discoverability, Leveling and Leaderboards
There are currencies beyond that within the various games, modules, etc.; which revolve around using Elixirs. Only Gems here are noteworthy, that is the currency the streamer earns from Elixirs and from a possible Trovo 500 membership, and these can be paid out.
This design runs through Trovo.
Not only does the design (desktop and mobile) offer a noticeably stronger discoverability compared to Twitch; it gives streamers the possibility to be discovered on Trovo thanks to the design. In addition to language settings, browsing categories, you can find suitable streamers. This also works with sorting functions, where you can have new streamers shown to you.
Leveling
Not only lockable dailies (daily tasks for viewers for rewards), the improvement of the Space, the Ace membership, but also the Team progress level
Leaderboards
Screenshot, 2025, trovo.live
Screenshot, 2025, trovo.live
Screenshot, 2025, trovo.live
In the Trends area you see many leaderboards, categorized by how much you, as a user/viewer, have supported, or which channel was supported the most, the most viewers, the most subscribers, is rising or newly growing.
In the chat of the stream channel you also find a leaderboard system that shows who has supported the most and places the top 3 supporters on 3 pedestals; divided into the current day, a VIP balcony (for Ace users) and a weekly ranking.
In the aforementioned different games, support options there are also top lists.
What else is interesting for the streamer?
Trovo 500
In the Trovo 500 program, you are paid fixed by Trovo itself. Through the metric called Trovo Points (a kind of measurement that gauges the stream's performance, such as subscribers, chat activity, playing these Trovo games while watching and spending Elixir, etc.); and if you reach the Trovo Points requirements, you get paid; and the program differs by region where the streamer is located.
There is the Trovo 500 Blue (Europe including Turkey) and the Trovo 500 Green (including USA, Canada, UK, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, Jamaica). There are also programs for Red I, Purple, Yellow — other regions.
Earnings
Since there are so many options to support the streamer as a viewer and to shape the streams as a streamer; the revenue split is 50/50; that means 50% of what is earned goes to Trovo and 50% goes to the streamer.
Teams
Streamers can create their own teams, manage them, invite other streamers; set their own team permissions and requirements.
As a team you can host streams together with the Squad feature.
There is also a more specialized version of the PK Arena called Team Arena.
Agency
Similar to a team, but more geared toward companies; for agencies that manage streamers, in terms of advertising; a kind of Team Plus.
Treasure Box
A kind of platform-native raffle tool, where you can set up giveaways; for example, to reward active viewers with Mana, Elixirs, Subs or a custom reward; Trovo also has a direct messaging feature. This can of course also be used to boost interaction. Minimum requirements can also be set.
There are channel-only Treasure Boxes and platform-wide Treasure Boxes; that means, only when you are in the corresponding stream can you see the giveaway or it appears platform-wide in the Treasure Box list.
Squad Streams!
Screenshot, 2025, trovo.live
Available from Channel Level 3: Stream with other Trovo streamers together, all perspectives at one point (adjustable), a merged chat of the streamers in the squad.
Goals
As a streamer you can set goals to achieve, which are then displayed over the stream and update when changed. From subscription goals, follow goals to goals of specific spells is an option.
Predictions
Screenshot, 2025, trovo.live
This allows paid and free kinds of guessing games to be set up; under the motto 'What do you think will happen next?'. The streamer can then resolve this and those who voted lose their stake on wrong predictions or win some. This is configurable with Mana and Elixers.
Categories
Screenshot, 2025, trovo.live
Similar to other live streaming platforms, there are also selectable categories to stream into; IRL categories, Games, etc. You can also favorite categories; and these seem to appear in the Games panel under the stream, sorted by frequency of streams.
