Video Game Streaming on Twitch — Important Metrics for Marketers
With video game streaming becoming a vital pillar of the content market, Twitch has evolved as the hot favorite social platform for the ultra-engaged gaming community.
Twitch is the most popular live streaming platform for gamers that broadcast gaming content while building communities around shared interests. Twitch streamers essentially share their gameplay by sharing their screens with the subscribers and fans, who can watch them play their favorite games live. Interestingly, there’s both a free and paid version to Twitch streaming, so there are monetization opportunities as well.
In This Blog:
1. What you need to know about Twitch?
2. How does Twitch work?
3. Important Twitch streaming metrics
What you need to know about Twitch?
With a total of 9.5 million active streamers (as of Feb 2021), Twitch is most famous for adventure-based gamers. But you’ll find it equally popular amongst turn-based strategy and even MMO-style gaming fans. Although petite, but Twitch is also known for broadcasting music, talks shows, and sports. The unique selling point of Twitch live streaming is that the stream can last anywhere from a minute to eight hours and even beyond. Since its launch in 2011, Twitch has partnered with gaming giants such as Overwatch League and Blizzard Entertainment to host global gaming, and sports events exclusively streamed on the platform.
As of July 2021, League of Legends was the most popular game on Twitch, with 42.55 billion viewers. This was followed by Fortnite, with 25.16 billion viewers, and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, with 19.14 billion viewers.
How Does Twitch Work?
The most notable feature of Twitch streaming is the split-screen display that allows the viewer to see what the streamer sees on his screen while playing. Additionally, the viewer can hear and see the streamer play through a smaller window embedded on the stream’s edge. While viewing the stream, the viewer can also comment in real-time and even receive responses in real-time. Since Twitch allows saving the streams, the viewers can also watch the previously stream gameplays.
So, how do gamers make money on Twitch?
Twitch allows the viewers to purchase games through links shown on the streams. For every purchase, the streamer receives pre-determined sales commissions. Additionally, the streamer can sell products related to their streams using affiliate links.
That said, Twitch also offers subscriptions to support your favorite streamer, allowing the viewers to watch ad-free streams and access to other features such as chat badges and emotes. For instance, Twitch Prime is a popular subscription option on Twitch, which gives viewers access to additional games and exclusive in-game content. However, it has to be manually renewed each month.
Important Twitch Streaming Metrics
With a deeply engaged and loyal customer base, Twitch enjoys a considerable proportion of the live game streaming market. Here are a few of the most important Twitch metrics that every marketer needs to know:
Read More: Video Game Streaming on Twitch — Important Metrics for Marketers
OneStream Live is a cloud-based solution to live stream across 40+ Social Media Platforms simultaneously. For queries and feedback, Live Chat with our team or write to us at care@onestream.live