Recent data from StreamElements and Arsenal.gg shows a 45% increase in watch time of live gaming content from March to April 2020. This is directly attributed to the lockdowns imposed by many governments due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The study looks at four of the major platforms, Twitch, YouTube Gaming, Facebook Gaming and Mixer. Asia Pacific readers should note that European and North American activity will skew these numbers, and it should be noted that YouTube, Facebook and Nimo TV perform exceptionally well in Asian markets. China has its own ecosystem of streaming platforms that are not represented in this study.
Year on year growth
The data also shows a +99% year on year growth in live watch time across the four platforms. While Twitch leads the pack in Western markets, Facebook Gaming grew the fastest. Facebook’s recent homepage redesign also gives much greater prominence to gaming content, indicating an increased focus on the vertical.
This data is taken from StreamElements, their original findings can be read here.
