Twitch, the world’s most popular live-streaming platform, has managed to increase its engagement rates much more compared to 2020, as a result of the restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Twitch generated $195.5 million in in-app purchases in the first half of 2021, according to data provided by Wette.de. This revenue is 139.88% more than Twitch’s revenue in the first half of 2020.
As businesses were forced to close and people began to find alternative ways of entertainment within the confines of their own homes, the game industry has developed considerably. Naturally, the game industry, which grew rapidly until 2020, saw a huge acceleration in growth due to the effect of the pandemic. The figures presented with the data show that this momentum has clearly carried over into 2021.
Gaming streaming platform Twitch has had an impressive 2020 but pales in comparison to the initial numbers of 2021. In the first and second quarters of 2021, Twitch generated $98.7 million and $96.8 million in in-app purchases, respectively, for a total of $195.5 million for the first half of 2021. This figure represents an estimated 140% increase over the first quarter of 2020. We also observe that the first quarter of 2021 has an increase of 35.3% compared to the fourth quarter of 2020.
Download numbers still much higher than pre-pandemic numbers
The number of Twitch app downloads also increased significantly in 2020, especially in Q2, which was heavily hit by the pandemic. After the pandemic started globally, the Twitch app was downloaded 24.92 million times in the second quarter of 2020, an almost 90% increase from the 13.12 million downloads seen in the first quarter of 2020.
The download count has yet to reach the second quarter of 2020 but is still well above pre-pandemic levels. In the first half of 2021, the Twitch app was downloaded almost 40 million times, with 21.74 million downloads in the first quarter and 18.17 million downloads in the second quarter.
Wette.de esports editor Rex Pascual commented:
“Twitch looks set to continue the momentum gained from the 2020 pandemic with an impressive half-time performance. Many in the industry see 2020’s increased participation more as a catalyst for anticipated growth, benefiting from a one-off event rather than a coincidence. Twitch’s first-semester performance is early proof that the former is probably true.”
