Twitch has become one of the biggest live streaming services in the world, and is actually number one when it comes to the live streaming of video games. Millions of visitors log in to the site to watch their favourite streamers play games. It was launched in June 2011, and it only took the company two years to amass 45 million viewers on the service. It then became such a big-hitter on the scene that in 2014, the company was acquired by Amazon for a colossal $970 million.
Since that takeover, the platform has gone from strength to strength, with there now being around 140 million unique visitors every month.
One huge reason for its ability to draw in such a crowd, is because the streamers are able to pick and choose what games they play, and therefore quickly find out what is most popular and thus draws in the most viewers to their stream. This is important for streamers who are looking to build a large following on Twitch. It also allows the platform to constantly evolve, and stops it from becoming stale. Let’s check out what the current trends are on the platform then, and see what is capturing the most crowds.
Just Chatting
Fascinatingly, for a streaming service that was designed and most known for its gaming content, one of the most recent big trends is streamers dedicating a lot of their time to simply conversing with their audience. Think video blogs, or video diaries, that are more famed on platforms like YouTube. However, unlike YouTube, Twitch has a much more interactive design to it, so viewers are able to engage with their favourite streamer by typing messages that the streamer can read as the video is live. This results in a larger community feel to the platform, and keeps the fans coming back for more.
‘Just Chatting’ is the name given to the phenomenon by Twitch, and this kind of content is now responsible for providing just over 230 million hours of videos watched in November 2021. That’s a lot of talking. It’s a trend that shows no signs of slowing down, as there’s so much variety that can be offered by streamers. Videos could be about everything, from showing off a prized recipe, to reviewing the last book they’ve read, or even just talking about how their day went. The possibilities are endless.
Trying Your Luck
One interesting development that is getting viewers excited, and raking in subscribers, is that online casinos are being used by streamers to showcase their gambling skills. This seems to be popular all over the world, with streamers using different websites depending on where they reside. For example, if they happened to live in India, they’d be using a website like Asiabet, which allows them to choose from a range of great online casinos based in that area.
The website also provides the best live casinos online in India for 2021, and these are especially favoured, as they allow for the closest experience to being in a real-life casino. Having a live dealer up on screen really reinforces those casino vibes that viewers enjoy tuning in for. Asiabet offers as well, the ability to play both with real money or for free, so streamers don’t have to potentially spend lots of their hard-earned cash to become a part of this trend.
Valorant
If there was one single game that is currently taking the Twitch world by storm though, it would be Valorant. The free-to-play first-person shooter was released in 2020, but it took until this year to really catch on with both streamers and their viewers. The game was developed by Riot Games, a name you might recognize as also being responsible for the mega-hit League of Legends, which was released back in 2009, but amazingly still manages to be in the top-five of most streamed games on Twitch nearly thirteen years later.
The developers obviously know what they’re doing then, to make an addictive game that people both love to play, and to watch. Valorant continues this form, and is a must play for any streamers that want to rack up those huge viewing figures, and therefore the chance to bring in as many subscribers as possible.