Twitch
Twitch is a livestreaming service for gaming, entertainment, sports, music and other content. It publishes articles aimed at brands, such as one on the business outcomes of advertising in gaming.
Documents
How Gaming Is Delivering Real Business Outcomes for Brands
The presentation demonstrates that gaming has become a strategic channel for brands seeking measurable marketing impact.
- Gaming has transitioned into a performance-marketing channel capable of tracking the full funnel from initial brand awareness to final conversion.
- Overwolf serves as a major advertising hub, reaching over 113 million monthly gamers and ranking as the second-largest U.S. gaming property according to Comscore.
- Global brands including Universal Pictures, P&G, Lancôme, AMD, Monster Energy, Nissan, and KFC are actively utilizing gaming platforms to achieve measurable business outcomes.
Reports about Twitch
570 documents by other writers name Twitch in the title or summary.
Fortnite Unique Channel Growth on Live Streaming
Fortnite maintains a dominant position within the live-streaming industry, serving as a primary pillar for content creators across major platforms including Twitch, YouTube Gaming, and Facebook.
- Fortnite achieved the highest number of unique streaming channels across all games in Q3 2023, experiencing a 14.17% growth from 1.6 million to 1.8 million channels.
- As of late 2023, Fortnite leads the live-streaming industry in unique channel count, outperforming the 'Just Chatting' category by 4.9%.
- The game's Q3 2023 unique channel count reached its highest level since Q1 2022, marking a significant resurgence in creator engagement.
Tibia’s Resurgence: How Streamers Revitalized a Classic MMORPG
The enduring MMORPG Tibia has experienced a notable resurgence in player engagement, demonstrating the capacity for legacy titles to maintain relevance through active community cultivation.
- Tibia, a 26-year-old MMORPG developed by CipSoft GmbH, saw a significant resurgence in engagement between September 24 and October 23, 2023, climbing 23 places in game rankings.
- Portuguese-speaking creators were the primary drivers of this growth, accounting for 63% of the total hours watched for the game during the one-month period.
- Six of the top ten streamers for Tibia during this spike originated from the Portuguese-speaking community, highlighting the impact of localized content on niche game longevity.
Diablo 4’s Second Season Launches with a Bang
The launch of Diablo 4’s second season on October 17, 2023, serves as a case study on the resilience of player engagement despite initial technical setbacks.
- Diablo 4 Season 2 reached a peak of 229,000 concurrent viewers on its launch day, October 17, 2023.
- The number of unique channels broadcasting Diablo 4 increased from 1,275 to 5,712 following the launch of the second season.
- High-profile streamers, including Asmongold, played a significant role in driving initial viewership spikes upon the season's release.
Team Liquid Signs Nihachu as a Brand Ambassador
Team Liquid has officially signed German-language content creator Nihachu as a brand ambassador, marking a strategic expansion of the organization’s influencer roster.
- Team Liquid has signed German-language content creator Nihachu as a brand ambassador to headline its partnership with PC manufacturer Alienware.
- Nihachu brings a combined social media and streaming audience of nearly 11 million followers across platforms including Twitch, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter.
- As part of the deal, Nihachu will host the Team Liquid YouTube series 'Two People Talking,' succeeding Jeremy 'Disguised Toast' Wang.
Ark: Survival Evolved and Roleplay Servers: Japan
The surge in viewership for the video game Ark: Survival Evolved during early October 2023 demonstrates the significant impact of private roleplay servers on live-streaming engagement.
- Between October 2nd and October 13th, 2023, Ark: Survival Evolved generated 34.4 million hours watched, jumping 104 spots to become the 3rd most-watched game on live streaming platforms.
- On October 4th, 2023, Ark: Survival Evolved outperformed GTA V in viewership, recording 3.9 million hours watched compared to 3.8 million for GTA V.
- The viewership surge was primarily driven by a private role-playing server organized by Vaultroom and the esports team Crazy Raccoon, which featured a collaborative group of popular streamers and Vtubers.
Madden NFL 24 Championship Series: Most Feared Kicks Off Oct. 18
Electronic Arts has announced the return of the Madden NFL 24 Championship Series (MCS 24) with the "Most Feared Challenge," a monthly tournament fixture designed to sustain engagement throughout the competitive season.
- Electronic Arts launched the 'Most Feared' tournament on October 18 as part of a new monthly event structure for the Madden NFL 24 Championship Series (MCS 24).
- The 'Most Feared' event features a $125,000 prize pool and awards qualification points toward the 2024 Ultimate Madden Bowl.
- MCS 24 registration numbers have increased by 10% compared to the entire MCS 23 season, with over 48,000 games played to date.
Starfield: Bethesda's Largest Release
Bethesda’s release of Starfield represents a strategic evolution in large-scale game promotion, shifting from traditional desktop-centric video advertising to a diversified, multi-platform approach.
- Starfield achieved the largest launch in Bethesda’s history, reaching over 10 million players through a strategy heavily reliant on Day-1 availability via Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass.
- The marketing campaign utilized a diversified, multi-platform approach across Twitch, TikTok, and Instagram, which successfully made the title the most wishlisted game on Steam prior to launch.
- Despite ranking in the top two for RPG advertising expenditure in 2023, the game faced intense market competition from established titles such as Baldur’s Gate 3 and Cyberpunk 2077.
CS2’s Average Audience Boosted 71% During Debut
The release of Counter-Strike 2 in September 2023 catalyzed a significant surge in viewership, marking a successful transition for the long-standing franchise.
- Counter-Strike 2 achieved an average minute audience of 172,000 viewers during its first week of release, representing a 71% increase over its limited-release period.
- Between September 1 and the first week of release, the franchise generated 90.1 million hours watched, ranking it as the fourth most-watched category on live-streaming platforms for September.
- Twitch dominated viewership for the launch period with over 80 million hours watched, followed by YouTube Gaming at 8.7 million and Kick at 1.9 million.
Checkmate: The Rise of Chess Games on Mobile
The mobile gaming landscape has experienced a significant resurgence in chess-themed titles, driven by increased cultural visibility and the rise of esports.
- Chess.com's mobile app has reached over 120 million players, leveraging a model that combines competitive play with over 500,000 tactical puzzles and subscription-based monetization.
- The auto-battler genre, which emerged from a 2019 Dota 2 mod, has consolidated around Riot’s Teamfight Tactics as the market leader due to its superior depth and item-crafting mechanics.
- Major titles like Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Honor of Kings, and Hearthstone have successfully integrated auto-chess side modes to drive engagement and revenue, with one Mobile Legends update featuring an auto-chess mode correlating with a 500% daily revenue increase.
MAJOR CHANGE
The recent announcement regarding the game Twisted Tower serves as a case study for navigating the business of game development, specifically the strategic use of publishers to bring commercial projects to market.
- Securing a publishing deal with 3D Realms for Twisted Tower provided essential professional marketing, trailer production, and industry visibility that the development team could not achieve independently.
- The development team funded the project's research and development phase through a diversified income model, utilizing revenue from online educational courses, content creation, and sponsorships.
- The initial prototype for Twisted Tower required a financial investment exceeding six figures to support a dedicated team, including a full-time artist and a lead developer.
Slay the Princess: How Did This Horror Game Go Viral?
This analysis explores the viral success of the indie horror visual novel Slay the Princess and examines broader engagement trends across the global streaming landscape for October 2023.
- Black Tabby Games achieved 70,000 units sold and 112,000 Steam wishlists within two weeks of launch by utilizing a highly branching narrative and a 1.5-hour demo.
- Strategic influencer outreach proved highly effective, as a single German streamer propelled Germany from the tenth to the second most wishlisted country in one week.
- The game's success was driven by a high-production value approach for an indie title, featuring 3,300 unique art assets and full voice acting to maximize streaming appeal.
What’s With the MMORPGs? A Case Study on Lost Ark
The MMORPG genre maintains a significant influence on the live-streaming industry by leveraging deep, interactive content to foster high levels of sustained player and viewer engagement.
- Lost Ark reached a peak of over 200 million hours watched in Q1 2022, establishing itself as the #1 MMORPG during that period.
- Following a post-launch decline caused by bot issues and player fatigue, Lost Ark successfully revitalized its viewership through strategic content updates, new player incentives, and Twitch drops.
- The release of the 'Thaemine' raid on Korean servers on September 13, 2023, triggered a significant viewership surge, resulting in 16.3 million hours watched over a 7-day period.