Episodic game specialist Telltale has clarified exactly how crowd play will function, quashing talk of using the new multiplayer feature on streaming services like Twitch. 

First unveiled at SDCC earlier this week, crowd play will make its debut in Telltale's Batman series, allowing spectators to influence in-game decisions by voting on smartphones and other compatible devices. 

At the time, many assumed crowd play would give streamers a more direct way of bringing viewers into the loop. Telltale, though, says that won't be the case, and is pitching the mode as a local multiplayer option designed for 4-12 players.

"Crowd play is not a feature intended for use over streaming services. There is latency introduced by services such as Twitch." explains an update to the Telltale blog. 

"This means that everyone isn't seeing that game at the exact same time, which means that everyone doesn’t see the choices at the same time." 

That doesn't mean crowd play won't eventually be able to handle streaming sessions, and Telltale says it's working closely with all streaming services to address those latency issues. 

When it's introduced alongside Batman, crowd play sessions will be available for hosting on all consoles, as well as PC and Mac.

For a deeper breakdown of the feature, including how to start your own session or link up with others, check out the Telltale blog.