State of the Stream December/2020 Year in Review
The livestreaming industry experienced unprecedented growth throughout 2020, driven largely by global quarantine measures that accelerated viewership across all major platforms. Twitch remained the dominant force in the market, with the Just Chatting category emerging as the year's most popular content segment, amassing 1.9 billion hours watched. This was followed by established titles like League of Legends at 1.4 billion hours and Fortnite at 904 million hours. While established platforms led the market, nascent services like DLive also saw significant gains, jumping from 9.7 million hours in the first quarter to a consistent range of 15 to 17 million hours for the remainder of the year.
The year was characterized by the rapid rise of new intellectual properties and viral sensations. Valorant led the pack of new releases with 737 million hours watched, achieving a massive peak of 334 million hours in April alone. Other breakout hits included Among Us, which peaked at 140 million hours in September, and Fall Guys, which reached 106 million hours in August. By the end of the year, titles like Cyberpunk 2077 and Phasmophobia solidified their positions as top-tier content, while World of Warcraft and Call of Duty: Warzone saw late-year surges in viewership due to new updates and seasonal interest.
Individual creator performance was led by xQcOW, who finished 2020 as the most-watched streamer on Twitch. Data provided by StreamElements and ArsenalGG indicates that the industry is shifting toward a mix of traditional gaming and non-gaming content, with Just Chatting maintaining its lead even as major game releases fluctuate. The final month of the year showed a diverse landscape where new titles like Cyberpunk 2077 competed directly with long-standing staples, reflecting a robust and diversifying ecosystem for digital content creators and brands.
