Founded in 2011, Twitch has become the largest streaming platform for gaming content and beyond. Today, the monthly users number approximately 140 million, of which 15 million are unique daily viewers. These numbers are constantly on the rise – in February this year the number of streamers who broadcasted on this platform was 3.8 million, while last year the number for the same month was 2.2 million.
Amazon acquired Twitch in 2014 for $1 billion, and it turned out to be a great move. Although there were huge efforts – Twitter streaming Fortnite Black Hole event, Facebook signing an exclusive eSports game streaming deal, Microsoft luring top game streaming stars with millions – Twitch remains a video game market leader, with a market share of 76% in Europe and Americas.
So what are the reasons behind the huge popularity of this streaming service?
Keeping it Real
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The first thing that keeps Twitch above the noise is the fact that live viewers on Twitch streams can enjoy the streaming directly, which makes the experience between the viewer and the streamer as authentic as it gets. In these conditions, it’s impossible to make videos rehearsed and perfect and it turns out that this aspect is actually one of the most appealing.
People today, especially millennials, highly appreciate when streamers are keeping it real. Twitch puts viewers in the perspective of watching their friends play from their couch, which means that all campaigns are unfiltered and unpolished. That way they’re able to see unique personalities and quirks, which leads to the most authentic game preview on the web. Of course, this approach is much more successful in encouraging subscribers to try out the streamed games themselves.
Watching & Learning
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The main reason why people enjoy watching games even if they’re not playing them is the chance to learn a few tricks from the gaming pros. There are many gamers for whom streaming is a full-time thing and spending so much time playing inevitably makes them an authority in the field. That is why there are more and more specialized channels for gaming strategies, such as a new Twitch channel from CasinoTopsOnline where you can find some useful tips for choosing and playing different casino games.
Improving your gameplay and catching up with the latest strategies is even easier with the real-time chat that is a part of the streaming package. Experienced gamers will often discuss how they got better at a certain game and give tips during the stream. Instead of replying to comments a week later, the interaction happens in real-time, creating a more authentic experience. It’s like being in a room with players and this is the kind of interactive experience that everyone enjoys.
Getting Together
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Live-chat also allows you to communicate with other viewers, which leads us to reason number 3 – building communities. Twitch, with its incredible amount of monthly users, is the perfect place to meet others with similar interests. And not all communities revolve around gaming. If you like religion, cooking, yoga – you’re also in the right place. Whatever your interests are, you’ll find a community around it, and you can also build your own niche.
Another thing on Twitch that gets people together is gaming tournaments that can be hosted by brands, developers, creators, etc. The ease of streaming enabled Twitch to turn gaming into a serious spectator sport and such live broadcasts are even delayed for up to 15 minutes through a built-in game server to assure there won’t be any cheating. These tournaments have grown in popularity so much that even game developers such as Ubisoft, Riot, and Blizzard have realized their potential and created tailored games for them.
And these get-togethers don’t happen only in the digital realm. There’s a bi-annual gaming convention for fans called TwitchCon that focuses on developers, moderators, publishers, and creators. It’s a perfect place for a broad community of their fans to support and meet them through various panels, cosplay contests, gaming exhibitions, etc.
Gaming & Beyond
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One more thing that sets Twitch apart from the competition is the huge selection of streamed games. We’re talking about hundreds of thousands of games every month, streamed from anywhere in the world. The variety is unmatched, and it’s not all about gaming. There are also tons of live-streams completely unrelated to gaming. Already in 2014 Twitch pushed into a music sector, enabling viewers to live-stream concerts and even talk with the performers.
We already mentioned you can follow anything from cooking to religion, and there are also various IRL streams providing viewers with real-life experiences and letting them see various places around the globe from the comfort of their homes. Obviously, the reasons for Twitch’s popularity are many – an unfiltered and raw experience, a chance to learn and improve your game, being a part of a community. And all this, combined with the huge variety of content, is what makes Twitch the king of live streaming that we don’t see being challenged any time soon.
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