We thought it was dead and buried, but YouTube Gaming is still moving. In any case, this is what emerges from the latest State of the Stream report published by StreamElements and Rainmaker.gg. The Alphabet streaming platform recorded 306 million hours of viewing during the month of December, an increase of 25%.
Strong franchises on YouTube Gaming
This fine result was made possible in particular by the broadcasts of very popular games on the service. Among them, we can cite Grand Theft Auto whose success is undeniable, but also Minecraft Where Fortnite.
However, the platform remains well behind Facebook Gaming, which has accumulated 405 million hours viewed. For its part, Twitch remains the undisputed master of video game streaming with 1.6 billion hours broadcast.
Quoted by our colleagues from gamesindustrybizGil Hirsch, CEO of StreamElements comments on the situation as follows: “When you compare Twitch’s pre-pandemic numbers to its current viewing hours, there’s no doubt that the platform has come a long way, even if its inflated pandemic-era numbers are trending down.”.
Another danger for Twitch: the emergence of very short video game formats posted on TikTok which are very popular with younger generations, but whose real impact it is still too early to assess.
Twitch also has to deal with recurring moderation issues. We know that many streamers have complained about the actions of certain toxic Internet users, and if progress has been noted, the problem is far from being resolved.
Twitch can in any case count on very popular franchises that are widely broadcast on the service. Among them and in order of release: Grand Theft Auto V, World of Warcraft, League of Legends, Valorant, Call of Duty, Fortnite, Overwatch, Escape from Tarkovor Minecraft.
Twitch has changed a lot
It is also interesting to note that the platform has changed a lot due to the pandemic. Thus, the “Just Chatting” category, which allows a creator to interact with the public on any subject, is the first category of streams.
We have seen many journalists land on Twitch to reach a new audience. The example of Samuel Étienne is emblematic in this respect, but many other brothers and sisters have joined him.
New political program formats have also emerged, including Backseat by Jean Massiet who tries to popularize political news for a younger audience.
