What the numbers say: Twitch, the Amazon-owned live-streaming video platform established in 2011, has gained popularity as a preferred medium for viewers to watch their favorite gamers engage in various online video games. As of June 2023, the most widely followed game on Twitch is Fortnite, boasting 82 million followers across the platform, followed by GTAV and GTA Online, both published by RockstarGames. Currently, Twitch has 140 million monthly active users (MAUs). Relevance: Twitch top streamer Félix Lengyel, or xQc, has signed a two-year, $100M deal with Kick, a rival platform, the New York Times reported. This means xQc could earn more in two years of playing video games than LeBron James' $97.13M two-year contract extension with the Lakers he signed in 2022. With both xQc and Amouranth deals, the new startup Kick now has Twitch's most-watched male and female streamers. Impact: According to StreamElements and Rainmaker's monthly State of the Stream reports, Twitch's viewership surged to 1.76 billion hours in May, marking a 5% increase compared to April. Kick is averaging 110,000 live streams daily, compared to Twitch's seven million monthly streamers and 31 million daily viewers. |
