Top gaming, live streaming trends revealed
January 11, 2024
Vertically-integrated, digital media, entertainment and technology company GameSquare Holdings, in conjunction with its wholly-owned analytics and business intelligence platform Stream Hatchet, has published its annual gaming and esports Trends Report
“Live streaming is a powerful driving force in the evolution of the creator economy,” says Justin Kenna, CEO of GameSquare. “Our 2024 trends report validates the critical shift we’ve been seeing year over year, and the numbers are staggering: a record 2.76 billion hours of live content consumed on streaming platforms during 2023 – a 75 per cent increase since 2019. Our data shines a light on today’s most impactful audiences, changing the landscape of the way brands should be interacting with their consumers. Creator-driven events have had a meteoric rise, signifying the gaming and esports community’s desire for more immersive and personalised experiences. As brands and advertisers navigate the value of the creator economy, these significant viewership numbers emphasize the transformative impact of the gaming and live streaming community in particular — an often overlooked audience that represents today’s most engaged consumers.”
Key takeaways include:
- Creator-driven events are on the rise and the top 2023 events had higher average viewership than the top esports events.
- Live streaming allows for a unique and easier way to measure the success of marketing campaigns and a direct link to audiences.
- Role-playing and action-adventure game viewership each increased 14 per cent in 2023.
- UEFN and creative world-building are connecting brands with viewers and creators.
In addition, Stream Hatchet provided a list of leaders in 2023, which included:
- The top live streamed game was League of Legends with 1.6 billion hours watched.
- Samy Rivera, rivers_gg, was the most watched female streamer of 2023 with 23,000 average viewers.
- ibai was the top creator in 2023 with 77,000 average viewers.
“Stream Hatchet’s powerful insights are a key component to GameSquare’s end-to-end solutions,” asserts Kenna. “The combination of our data and technology assets with our gaming and esports teams drive a significant competitive advantage and fuel GameSquare’s leading marketing and creative services. As a result, GameSquare is at the leading edge of gaming trends and culture, providing an unmatched value to our global brand partners.”