State of the Stream for May: Twitch returns to form, The Legend of Zelda tears up the chart, and 3 streamers make their top 10 debut
Welcome to the State of the Stream where we share the latest streaming data around platforms, content creators, and related trends. The following report features narratives crafted by StreamElements based on data courtesy of our friends at Rainmaker.gg.
Twitch‘s year-over-year March vs May shows a return to normalcy
Why are we talking about March and May like April doesn’t exist? Because when looking at the hours watched on a platform, the number of days in a month matters with March and May both having 31. What’s interesting is that May is typically a more popular month for hours watched, but that wasn’t the case in 2022. Because Twitch was in a post-pandemic downturn, all of the normal viewing patterns were disrupted with May dropping below March. Now we are seeing May rising above March again. Gil Hirsch, CEO/Co-founder of StreamElements, explained what this could mean:
“Covering streaming viewership trends is a complex art since there are many variables at play, from the number of days in a month to how far into it a game launches and how many hours influential creators decide to stream. Instead you have to look for patterns. With Twitch, May has always been stronger than March until last year when there was the expected post-pandemic decline, but this year May is back on top which could signal a welcome return to the platform’s regular ebb and flow.”
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is the latest new release to crack the top 10 on Twitch
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom had a strong debut, soaring into the #10 spot. While it won’t be reaching Diablo IV heights based on where both games are tracking in June, anytime a game makes the chart is a reason to celebrate.
World of Warcraft also had a big month thanks to the Dragonflight Patch 10.1 for Embers of Neltharion.
In terms of streaming trends, non-gaming content is responsible for 24% of the hours watched based on the top 100 categories. This is approximately the same percentage it held in 2022, illustrating that the audience’s interests have remained steady.
The Top 10 welcomes three new names for 2023
During any given month on Twitch, new entries to the top 10 surface, but rarely has there been three, especially when they are not involved in the same huge event. Cellbit, ohnePixel, and PurpleBixi have all made the chart for the first time in 2023, with content that ranged from a presidential election in Turkey to CS:GO and Minecraft.
What should be very interesting next month is how xQc’s long-standing dominance on the charts will be impacted by his non-exclusive deal with Kick. This could open the door for a Gaules run given his frequent home in the #2 spot.
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