In March 2017, a report published by industry analysis firm Juniper Research revealed that the esports and game content streaming revenues will rise to $3.5 billion by 2021. Driven primarily by a surge in advertisers spending money to get their goods and services in front of the more than 500 million viewers who watch video game video content online, the game streaming industry is clearly booming.
But this isn’t the only evidence that the gaming live streaming industry is taking off. Here are three more examples of its success.
Amazon Bought Twitch
In August 2014, online retailer Amazon made headlines when it announced that it had purchased Twitch for almost $1 billion. As of July 2014, Twitch had 55 million monthly viewers with people from all around the world tuning in to watch people play games.
But Amazon doesn’t just recognize Twitch’s potential as a video game live streaming platform. The company also sees it as a way to tap into a new demographic of shoppers. For example, Amazon has since leveraged the platform to sell Amazon Prime subscriptions and bring people into its shopping ecosystem with Twitch Prime which offers free games as well as free Twitch subscriptions. The fact that Amazon saw Twitch as such an important part of its growth is monumental.
New Forms of Stream Integration
Another example of game live streaming’s popularity is that we are seeing new forms of stream integration.
Some of this lies in additional Twitch interactivity, with games like Superfight and Party Hard being described as “Twitch bait” for the way that they directly appeal to Twitch streamers, or even the popular “Twitch Plays” series, where commands typed by viewers in the live chat interface control the game. But we are also seeing live stream interactivity offered by casino games where players can take part in games such as blackjack, roulette, and baccarat as they are streamed live from the casino, with real people serving as dealers and croupiers. These sorts of streams offer increased interactivity and a positive, realistic atmosphere.
Google Launched YouTube Gaming
Another example is the fact that Google launched YouTube Gaming in August 2015. Positioned as a direct rival to the Amazon-owned live-streaming platform Twitch, YouTube Gaming offers a dedicated hub for people who create video game video content as well as those who broadcast and host video game live streams.
In 2017, YouTube Gaming grew its streamer base by 343%, in comparison to Twitch which grew by 197%. The Google-owned platform is gaining on Twitch and the efforts that the company puts into this growth shows that it recognizes how big a deal video game live-streaming is.
These are just a handful of examples of the growth of video game live streaming. For years, the industry has grown on the strength of esports tournaments and charismatic personalities who draw thousands of viewers who love hearing their hilarious and energetic takes on games. The industry is also thriving thanks to major partnerships and exclusivity deals as well as the rise of online multiplayer gaming, with players wanting to tune in to see players of high skill do what they do best. This is just the start of what the streaming industry has to offer.
