Twitch is a livestreaming platform focused on video games. It was founded by Justin Kan in 2011, originally as a spin-off of Justin.tv. The latter started life in 2007 as a single channel, broadcasting Kan’s life live around the clock, pioneering the concept of ‘lifecasting’.
The website attracted interest from others who were more interested in broadcasting their own lives than viewing that of Kan’s, which had nonetheless served as great exposure for Justin.TV. Acting on this interest, the site relaunched later in 2007, allowing users to create their own channels and broadcast their own content through the platform.
Streaming games was not the original idea, but after seeing the interest from many users wanting to stream video games, the gaming category of Justin.TV was spun-out as Twitch.TV.
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Before long, Twitch vastly eclipsed Justin.TV, to the extent the company was rebranded and Justin.TV was shut-down in 2014.
Also in 2014, Amazon made a $1 billion offer for Twitch. Similar to Google’s acquisition of YouTube, the move was questioned for its pricing and its fundamental value for Amazon, but those doubters have been somewhat silenced by the huge growth of Twitch over the decade.
Traffic continued to grow, with 1.5 million broadcasters and 100 million monthly viewers in 2015, rising to 2.2 million broadcasters and 15 million daily viewers in 2018. Average concurrent viewers have climbed to over 2 million in 2021.
Twitch broadcasters, perhaps most famously Ninja, have featured on the cover of ESPN. E-sports tournaments have drawn hundreds of thousands of concurrent viewers, with millions of dollars in prize money funded partly through the huge audience on Twitch.
Amazon has left Twitch largely to its own devices, although Amazon Prime has been integrated into Twitch’s subscription service. In the past year, Amazon has looked at new ways of monetizing the platform, which have included in-app purchases and Prime deals for games.
We have collected data and statistics on Twitch. Read on below to find out more.
Twitch key statistics
- Twitch made an estimated $2.8 billion revenue in 2022
- In 2022, Twitch had an average of 2.58 million concurrent viewers
- 7.6 million Twitch users stream on the platform once a month
- 22.4 billion hours of content was consumed on the platform in 2022
Twitch overview
| Title 1 | Title 2 |
|---|---|
| Launch date | 6 June 2011 |
| HQ | San Francisco, California |
| People | Emmett Shear (CEO, co-founder), Doug Scott (CMO), Justin Kan (co-founder) |
| Business type | Subsidiary |
| Owner | Amazon |
| Industry | Video livestreaming |
Twitch revenue
Twitch generated approximately $2.8 billion revenue in 2022.
Twitch annual revenue 2016 t0 2022 ($mm)
| Year | Revenue ($mm) |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 275 |
| 2017 | 300 |
| 2018 | 880 |
| 2019 | 1230 |
| 2020 | 1890 |
| 2021 | 2675 |
| 2022 | 2800 |
Note: Some values are estimated. Source: SuperData, The Information
Twitch users
Twitch had an average of 2.58 million concurrent viewers in 2022, a 6% decrease on 2021.
Twitch annual average concurrent viewers 2015 to 2022 (mm)
| Year | Concurrent viewers (mm) |
|---|---|
| 2015 | 0.53 |
| 2016 | 0.61 |
| 2017 | 0.74 |
| 2018 | 1.07 |
| 2019 | 1.26 |
| 2020 | 2.12 |
| 2021 | 2.78 |
| 2022 | 2.58 |
Note: This is an annual average of concurrent viewers. Source: Twitchtracker
Twitch streamers
7.6 million Twitch accounts streamed once a month in 2022.
Twitch annual monthly streamers 2015 to 2022 (mm)
| Year | Streamers (mm) |
|---|---|
| 2015 | 1.7 |
| 2016 | 1.8 |
| 2017 | 2 |
| 2018 | 3.3 |
| 2019 | 3.6 |
| 2020 | 6.9 |
| 2021 | 9 |
| 2022 | 7.6 |
Note: Active channels have went live at least once a month. Source: Twitchtracker
Twitch hours watched
22.4 billion hours of Twitch were consumed by viewers in 2022, a 6% decrease on 2021.
Twitch annual hours watched 2012 to 2022 (mm)
| Year | Hours watched (bn) |
|---|---|
| 2012 | 0.2 |
| 2013 | 1.7 |
| 2014 | 2.9 |
| 2015 | 4.7 |
| 2016 | 5.2 |
| 2017 | 6.5 |
| 2018 | 9.3 |
| 2019 | 11 |
| 2020 | 18.6 |
| 2021 | 22.8 |
| 2022 | 22.4 |
Source: Twitchtracker
Twitch vs YouTube Gaming: hours watched
Twitch is far ahead of YouTube Gaming and Facebook Gaming in hours watched, and it has pulled further ahead in the past two years.
Video streaming quarterly hours watched 2019 to 2022 (bn)
Twitch age demographics
Over two thirds of Twitch users are aged under 35; only 3% of viewers are aged 55 or above.
Twitch age demographics 2022 (%)
| Age | Percentage of users |
|---|---|
| 16-24 | 41 |
| 25-34 | 32 |
| 35-44 | 17 |
| 45-54 | 7 |
| 55+ | 3 |
Source: GlobalWebIndex
Twitch gender demographics
Twitch has a majority male audience, however, the gap between the genders has tightened in the past few years.
Twitch gender demographics 2022 (%)
| Gender | Percentage of users |
|---|---|
| Female | 35 |
| Male | 65 |
Source: GlobalWebIndex
Most followed Twitch channels
Ninja is the most followed Twitch channel, maintaining his lead even after he defected to Microsoft’s Mixer platform in 2019.
Most followed Twitch channels 2022 (mm)
| Account | Followers (mm) |
|---|---|
| Ninja | 18.2 |
| auronplay | 12.8 |
| Rubius | 11.9 |
| Tfue | 11 |
| xQc | 10.8 |
| ibai | 10.3 |
| shroud | 10 |
| TheGrefg | 9.9 |
| pokimane | 9.1 |
| sodapoppin | 8.7 |
Source: SocialBlade
Most viewed games on Twitch
League of Legends is by far the most popular game on Twitch, with Riot Games e-sports tournaments streamed on the platform.
Most viewed video games on Twitch 2022 (bn)
| Game | Views (bn) |
|---|---|
| League of Legends | 51.3 |
| Fortnite | 29.1 |
| Grand Theft Auto V | 25.7 |
| Counter Strike: Global Offensive | 23 |
| DoTA 2 | 20 |
| Hearthstone | 13.8 |
| Minecraft | 11.8 |
| World of Warcraft | 11.7 |
| Overwatch | 8.2 |
| Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege | 4.4 |
Source: TwitchStats
Twitch FAQ
What is Twitch’s peak concurrent viewers?
Twitch hit peaked concurrents in June 2020, with 6.5 million viewers
What channel has the most total views?
Riot Games, which hosts League of Legends tournaments, has the most total views (SocialBlade)
How much of the livestreaming market share does Twitch have?
Twitch has market share of 67% content hours watched, and 90% of content streamed (Streamlab/Stream Hatchet)
How many people use Twitch daily?
According to Twitch, 30 million unique users view Twitch streams daily
How many Twitch partners are there?
There are an estimated 51,500 Twitch Partners, as of August 2021 (Twitchtracker)
Where does Twitch rank in global traffic?
Twitch ranked 38 for global traffic in February 2021, and 2 for games (SimilarWeb)
How much content do Twitch users watch per day?
Twitch users watch 95 minutes per day on average
How much did Amazon acquire Twitch for?
Twitch acquired by Amazon for $1 billion in August 2014
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