How to Make an Animated Starting Soon Screen in OBS (Free)
A "Starting Soon" screen gives viewers something to look at while you get ready, and a countdown tells them exactly when the stream begins, so they stay instead of leaving. Here's how to make one for free.
Step 1: Design your screen
- Open the free Starting Soon editor.
- Pick a style: Minimal, Neon, Pixel or Cozy.
- Change the title and subtitle, or keep the defaults.
- Choose an accent color that matches your brand.
Step 2: Set the countdown
You have two options:
- Minutes: counts down from the moment OBS loads the screen (for example, 5 minutes).
- Exact time: counts down to a clock time, like 19:30. This one is always correct, even if you restart OBS, so it's the best choice if you stream on a schedule.
You can also change the text that appears when the timer reaches zero.
Step 3: Add it to OBS
- Press Copy link in the editor.
- In OBS, create a new scene called "Starting Soon".
- In Sources, click + → Browser.
- Paste the link into URL, set Width 1920 and Height 1080, press OK.
Pro tip: restart the timer automatically
In the Browser Source properties, tick "Refresh browser when scene becomes active". With a minutes-based countdown, the timer then restarts every time you switch to this scene.
Want more?
The free editor covers the classic look. For hyperspace jumps, real-time aurora, glitch effects and a timer built from thousands of particles, plus matching Be Right Back and Stream Ending screens, check out the PRO packs on the home page.