YouTube Gaming Surpasses Twitch and Trails Behind Facebook Gaming in Live Stream Hours
In December 2022, YouTube Gaming emerged as the leader in live gaming stream hours watched, driven by popular titles like Grand Theft Auto, Minecraft, and Fortnite, according to data from Rainmaker.gg, the analytics partner for StreamElements.
Despite this achievement, YouTube Gaming still lags behind its major competitors, with 305 million hours watched. However, the video game streaming arm of Google-owned platform remains determined to close the gap.
Twitch, on the other hand, continues to dominate the livestreaming industry, with 1.602 billion hours watched in December 2022. Although this figure marks the lowest monthly hours watched on Twitch throughout the year, the platform’s growth remains remarkable. In fact, it has doubled its numbers since 2019.
YouTube Gaming still trails behind Facebook Gaming, which holds the second position in gaming livestreaming. From August to December, Facebook Gaming consistently outperformed YouTube Gaming. In December 2022, Facebook Gaming gathered 405 million hours watched, more than doubling its “pre-pandemic peak” of 194 million.
However, for many gaming creators who consider YouTube their home, the focus is not solely on livestreaming numbers. Creators like Ludwig and TimTheTatman have prioritized the quantity and quality of their video releases. Ludwig even stated that live viewership is not a significant concern on YouTube, as his uploaded video views have increased since joining the platform.
Nevertheless, YouTube Gaming aims to narrow the gap with Facebook Gaming, especially considering the number of high-profile creators who have switched to the platform in recent years.