As you might guess, the lockdown rules during COVID-19 have changed people’s habits and make them interact with social media platforms even more. Therefore, there has been a skyrocketing interest in live game streaming on the top three video game streaming platforms: Twitch, Youtube Gaming and Facebook Gaming. In 2020, these platforms successfully managed to hit a total of 30 billion hours in terms of watching. This number shows that watching time has increased by 78% since the pandemic started.
According to data presented by 123scommesse, Twitch, Youtube Gaming, and Facebook Gaming hit a total of 8.8 billion hours watched in the first quarter of 2021, an 80% jump year-over-year.
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Twitch Hit a Record 6.3 Billion Hours Watched in Q1
Last year, eSports fans spent a record number of hours watching the gaming titles on the popular video-sharing platforms. The Streamlabs and Stream Hatched data showed viewers worldwide watched 27.9 billion hours of content across all platforms in 2020, up 78.5% from 15.6 billion hours in 2019.
The total hours watched on YouTube Gaming doubled in 2020 and hit 6.19 billion. Facebook Gaming nearly tripled the number of hours watched last year, with the figure rising to 3.1 billion, up from 1.09 billion in 2019.
Total hours watched on top streaming platforms, from Q1 2019 to Q1 2021.
Focused on broadcasting shows and sports content, Twitch led the audience in live broadcasts, with a total of 18.4 billion hours watched in 2020. Last year, the popular streaming platform set another record for most hours watched in one quarter with 5.4 billion hours watched in Q4 2020, or 65% of the total hours watched on all platforms in that period.
However, in the first quarter of 2021, the figures skyrocketed even higher. Statistics show that viewers worldwide watched 6.3 billion hours of content on Twitch between January and March, up from 3.2 billion in 2020, the highest number so far. Also, the popular streaming platform accounted for more than half of all battle royale streams in this period.
Facebook Gaming Audience Surged by 83% YoY
Although the Amazon-owned live streaming platform widened the gap between itself and the other platforms, YouTube Gaming and Facebook Gaming also witnessed impressive growth in the first quarter of the year.
The Stream Hatched data show YouTube Gaming hit 1.4 billion hours watched between January and March, up from 1.1 billion in the same period a year ago.
Although Facebook Gaming lags behind the two leading platforms, statistics show its audience surged by 83% year-over-year. In Q1 2021, Facebook Gaming had a total of 1.1 billion hours watched, up from 600 million in 2020.
Gamer, cat lover, and a huge fan of Lara Croft. I write news and articles about the mobile game industry to contribute to the industry as much as possible.
