Game video content

Background

Popular video content featuring footage from games can be found on video hosting websites such as YouTube and live streaming platforms such as Twitch. This includes 'let's play' videos, walkthroughs, livestreams of games, video reviews, speedruns and many other forms of video content relating to games.

Streaming Platforms

• Twitch
• Mixer
• YouTube Gaming
• Facebook Gaming

2020 Stats

• Global games video content revenues reached $6.5bn in 2019, with a global audience of 944m people. (Superdata, Jan 2020)
• Of the total market, Twitch was the largest contributor representing 23% of revenues generated, followed by Youtube at 22% and China-based Huya at 8%. Microsofts's Mixr accounted for just 1% of global revenues. (Superdata, Jan 2020)

2019 Stats

• In the US, 78% of 10-12 year-olds and 67% of 7-9 year-olds watch gaming video content on YouTube or Twitch (SuperData, Nov 2019)

• In Q1 2019, 2.7 billion hours of content was viewed on Twitch, an increase of +38% on the same period in 2018. (StreamElements, Apr 2019)
  • January was a record-breaking month, with 948 million hours viewed

• Hours viewed on Mixr increased to 89 million in Q1 2019, over a four-fold increase from 22 million in the same period 2018. (StreamElements, Apr 2019)

• Fortnite is the most popular game streamed on Twitch with 312 million hours watched, remaining top despite dropping 8.4% in the previous quarter and decreasing for three quarters in a row. (StreamElements, Apr 2019)

• There were 2.2 million quarterly active users streaming Fortnite on Twitch in January 2019, a 5% drop on the previous period and the first decrease since launch in September 2017. (StreamElements, Apr 2019)

• 302 million hours of League of Legends was viewed in Q1 2019, making it the second most popular game on Twitch. Apex Legends, a new entrant, was ranked third at 183 million hours. (StreamElements, Apr 2019)

• In the US in 2018, 43% of the average weekly hours spent using a games console are actually playing games, 57% of time is spent enjoying non-games activities such as watching streaming video services or DVDs. (Nielsen, May 2018)

• In the US in 2018, 69% of people aged 13+ that play games watch games-related content on Youtube. (Nielsen, May 2018)

Nielsen US Games 360 Report - US players aged 13+ in 2018, Console use hours by activity type

• The most watched games on Twitch and Youtube in 2018 were Fortnite (1,636.8m hours viewed), League of Legends (816.1m hours) and PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (617.7m hours). (Newzoo, Feb 2019)
  • The most watched British-developed games were Grand Theft Auto V (179.m hours) and Sea of Thieves (56.2m hours).

• The audience for gaming video content (GVC) grew 10% to reach 850m unique viewers in 2018, generating $5.2bn in revenues.(Superdata, Jan 2019)

• Twitch was the highest-earning GVC platform ($1.6bn, 183m viewers) despite having a much smaller audience than YouTube ($1.2bn, 594m viewers). (Superdata, Jan 2019)
  • Donations and channel subscriptons accounted for 32% of GVC revenue on Twitch compared to only 9% on YouTube.

• Tyler “Ninja” Blevins was the most popular streamer on Twitch in 2018, achieving of 218 million hours of total views - more than second and third most popular channels combined.(Superdata, Jan 2019)

• Despite its appeal with younger audiences, nearly three in five Fortnite Twitch viewers (56%) are 25 or older. (Superdata, Jan 2019)

• Online videos can be pivotal to a game's success, with by 46% of US PC and console players under the age of 25's purchase decisions influenced by GVC. (Superdata, Jan 2019)

2018 Stats

• The global Game Video Content reached $3.2bn in 2017. (Superdata, Jan 2018)

• 54% of global GVC revenues were driven by Twitch ($1.7bn), with YouTube contributing 22% ($0.7bn). The remaining 25% ($0.8bn) was made up from other sources. (Superdata, Jan 2018)

• According to Superdata, 51% of GVC revenues on Twitch were generated directly through consumer subscriptions and donations to content creators via the platform. (Superdata, Jan 2018)

• Games are the most popular content category on YouTube, with the most popular games youtuber PewDiePie’s 60m subscribers more than the largest two music channels combined (Justin Beiber and Riihanna). (Superdata, Jan 2018)

• As of Januray 2018, the moist popular games youtubers are PewDiePie (60m subs), elrubiusOMG (27m subs) and Fernanfloo (26m). (Superdata, Jan 2018)

2017 Stats

• 665m people watch game video content worldwide, more twice the entire population of the USA. (SuperData, July 2017)

• More people watch GVC than HBO, Netflix, ESPN and Hulu combined. (SuperData, July 2017)

• The current viewer base has a high female representation (46%) and high average income ($58K in the US). (SuperData, July 2017)

• Ads and direct consumer spending will push GVC earnings to $4.6bn in 2017, exceeding the earnings from top association football leagues like Bundesliga ($3.5bn) and La Liga ($3.2bn). (SuperData, July 2017)

2015 Stats

• YouTube Gaming, with both a dedicated site and apps across iOS and Android, has been launched. YouTube already dominates in terms of games focused video-on-demand with more people watching games content on YouTube than Twitch so the potential is there for serious competition, but Twitch has brushed off the threat stating that competition is good and validates gaming video as a huge market. (MCV, Sept 2015)

• The global games video content market is worth $3.8bn in 2015. The majority of the revenue is located in North America (39%, $1.49bn) and Europe (30%, $1.14bn). (Superdata, July 2015)

• The $3.8bn revenue comes mostly from indirect sources like advertising revenue and sponsorship (77%, $2.9bn) and from direct sources like paid subscriptions (7%, $252m) and donations (16%, $638m). (Superdata, July 2015)

• 468m people tune in to watch walkthroughs, trailers and live streams. (Superdata, July 2015)

• Games video content has also become popular in Asia but piracy and TV competition inhibited revenue growth. (Superdata, July 2015)

• Top content creators can earn high amounts, PewDiePie for example earned $7.4m in 2014. (Superdata, July 2015)

• The Top 10 franchises on YouTube earned a combined $4.7bn digital annual revenue in 2014. The 3 franchises with most views were Minecraft (30.8bn views), Grand Theft Auto (11.9bn) and Call of Duty (10.1bn). The 3 franchises that earned most digital revenue in 2014 were League of Legends ($1.3bn), World of Warcraft ($1.2bn) and Call of Duty ($789m). (Superdata, July 2015)

• In the US in 2014, viewers donate an average $4.6 a month to content creators. 44% of live stream viewers pay for subscriptions, spending $21 earch month on paid content. They also spend $128 per month on games and hardware. (Superdata, July 2015)

• In terms of video game content 73% of gamers watch online videos and 54% watch live video stream. A quarter (25%) of those who watch live streams do so on their mobile and 18% use their tablets. (Newzoo, July 2015)

• Twitch is the current leader in live streaming gameplay and eSports (has 43m monthly views on its website), but is behind YouTube in number of creators, array of content and audience size. YouTube with its network of fans and influencers can shape and change opinions on games, and YouTube gaming will be a direct competitor to Twitch. Other competitors have appeared, like Azubu, Hitbox.tv or even Steam with Steam Broadcasting. (Newzoo, July 2015)

• On Twitch, the Top 5 games by hours watched are League of Legends (81m hours watched, 1420 channels streaming the game), Counter Strike (45.4m hours watched, 839 channels), DOTA 2 (41m hours, 331 channels), Hearthstone (33m, 233 channels) and Minecraft (9.8m hours, 581 channels). (Newzoo, July 2015)