Updated Mar 17, 2026 by Stream Hatchet
Twitch maintains a dominant 72% market share of gaming hours watched, while YouTube grew its viewership by 4% and Facebook Gaming suffered a 70% decline following the discontinuation of its standalone app.
The live streaming industry is stabilizing post-pandemic with total hours watched down 13% year-over-year, though current viewership remains nearly double 2019 levels.
Esports viewership grew 40% year-over-year, with Twitch capturing 66% of this segment and eight of the top ten esports organizations now generating the majority of their watch time through non-competitive variety content.
While the total number of active channels decreased by 13%, the remaining creators increased their output, leading to a 7.5% year-over-year rise in total hours broadcast.
VTubers are a significant growth driver, now representing 50% of the top ten female creators and achieving an average viewership increase of 30% over the previous quarter.
Grand Theft Auto V and League of Legends remain the leading titles, though the quarter was also marked by a peak in gambling viewership on Twitch prior to the implementation of new platform restrictions.
Twitch maintains a dominant 72% market share of gaming hours watched, while YouTube grew its viewership by 4% and Facebook Gaming suffered a 70% decline following the discontinuation of its standalone app.
The live streaming industry is stabilizing post-pandemic with total hours watched down 13% year-over-year, though current viewership remains nearly double 2019 levels.
Esports viewership grew 40% year-over-year, with Twitch capturing 66% of this segment and eight of the top ten esports organizations now generating the majority of their watch time through non-competitive variety content.
While the total number of active channels decreased by 13%, the remaining creators increased their output, leading to a 7.5% year-over-year rise in total hours broadcast.
VTubers are a significant growth driver, now representing 50% of the top ten female creators and achieving an average viewership increase of 30% over the previous quarter.
Grand Theft Auto V and League of Legends remain the leading titles, though the quarter was also marked by a peak in gambling viewership on Twitch prior to the implementation of new platform restrictions.