The offline screen, which Twitch labels the video player banner, is 1920 x 1080 px. The trap is designing edge to edge, because Twitch draws thumbnails of your recent videos on top of it.
Where it shows
- The video player on your channel page while you are offline
- Embedded players of your channel on other sites between streams
- The player area on the Twitch mobile app channel page
The safe zone
Twitch's own guidance is to use a 1920 x 1080 px image with any text or important content near the center, because recent video thumbnails are laid over the offline player. The lower band also carries the player control bar and meets the channel information underneath, and the mobile player crops tighter than desktop does. Build a centered card about half the frame wide and let the outer area be texture that can be covered without losing meaning.
Quirks worth knowing
- Twitch's blog asks creators to keep text and important content near the center of the 1920 x 1080 px frame so recent video thumbnails do not cover it.
- Animated video player banners are not supported, so a GIF that works fine as a profile banner is refused in this field.
- The setting is labeled Video Player Banner in the Brand tab of the creator dashboard, which is why searching the dashboard for offline screen finds nothing.
- It is the only channel asset that does its work while you are away, since going live replaces it with the stream itself.
- Twitch's help pages do not load without a browser, so the 10 MB cap and the static only rule come from the Kudos Twitch size guide, while the 1920 x 1080 px figure and the centered content advice come from Twitch's own blog.
Common mistakes
- Running the streaming schedule along the bottom edge, where the control bar and the video carousel sit.
- Reusing the live overlay layout, so visitors get an empty webcam frame and blank alert boxes.
- Uploading an animated file and assuming the failure was about file size.
- Exporting at 1280 x 720 px, which has to scale up on a full width player and softens the schedule text that justifies the screen.
What we recommend
- Build a centered card carrying the channel name, the stream days and one social handle.
- Keep the corners and edges as background pattern, since that is where the thumbnails land.
- Export a static PNG or JPG, because the player will not play an animation here.
- Update the schedule text whenever your stream days change, since this is what a first time visitor meets when you are not live.
Common questions
Why is my Twitch offline screen covered by thumbnails?
Twitch draws thumbnails of your recent videos on top of the offline player. That is exactly why Twitch advises keeping text and important content near the center of the 1920 x 1080 px image. Anything sitting low in the frame is the first to be hidden.
Can a Twitch offline screen be a video or a GIF?
No. Animated video player banners are not supported, so this has to be a static PNG or JPG. Streamers who want motion run a looping scene in their broadcast software instead, which only shows while they are actually live.
Where do I upload a Twitch offline screen?
In the creator dashboard under Settings, then Channel, then the Brand tab, where the field is called Video Player Banner. It is separate from the profile banner field. The upload limit is 10 MB.
What size is a Twitch offline banner?
1920 x 1080 px, matching the 16:9 player. Twitch's blog names that exact size and asks for important content near the center. A smaller export has to scale up and looks soft on a full width player.
More answers on thumbnail, carousel and cover questions are on the FAQ.