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Twitch streaming has been huge for a number of years now but over the past year, the platform has seen a tremendous spike in growth. Currently, over 15 million users are actively watching video streams on the platform each day and there are over 2 million active broadcasters.
The platform has been around since 2011 and has adapted alongside various trends over the years. Nowadays it isn’t only for gamers, there are music events, cooking shows, casino streamers to follow and various other niches.
It is always interesting to see new trends develop on the platform and 2021 looks set to be another interesting year for video streaming content.
Here are some of the trends we could be seeing on Twitch throughout the year and some of the best games to stream on Twitch.
Celebrities on Twitch
The pandemic has seen a big shift in the working lives of many of us and alternative working arrangements have now become the new norm as restrictions are still in place. The same kind of restrictions have also been affecting the work of many celebrities over the last 12 months or so.
With fewer live shows and delays to film projects, some celebs have gone searching for alternative ways to keep themselves busy and relevant. One of these ways has been streaming themselves on Twitch.
The community-based nature of Twitch makes it the perfect platform for artists, performers, and other creatives to keep connected with their audience. We think several celebrities who started Twitch as a temporary measure in 2020 will see the benefits it can have on their popularity and will likely continue to maintain a foothold in the platform going forward.
Special Live Events
As well as public figures hosting day to day streams, they’ve also shown a willingness to host bigger live events on the platform and this looks likely to carry on into the future.
One of the best celebrity Twitch events of last year was Stream Aid, which was a 12-hour Livestream event held to raise money for the World Health Organization’s CoVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. The event, organized by Enthusiast Gaming, saw a host of big-name stars from sports, music, and television take part and raise over US$2.7 million.
Twitch has also become a great place for performers like musicians and comedians to put on live gigs for their fans even during the lockdowns we have found ourselves in recently. Not only does it mean the fans get to see new content from their favourite artists, but it keeps the artists on top of their game when it comes to performing live.
All of this means performers have now seen a new opportunity to get themselves in front of people more often and it is something we’re sure more of them will be exploring and taking full advantage of during 2021.
A More Diverse Range of Content
Back when the platform launched, Twitch.tv was aimed at providing a platform for gamers to stream their gameplay content. While gamers still make up the vast majority of broadcasters on Twitch, other niches have shown up and continued to grow.
The growth of the service means more people become interested in being involved with it. As a result, a larger number of creative people find new and interesting ways to take advantage of the service. This has helped to expand the target market of twitch beyond simply gamers.
Popular examples of popular content outside of traditional video gaming can be seen among the popular IRL streamers who simply stream their daily activities as they interact with their viewers. Similarly, the “just chatting” category sees streamers doing exactly that: just chatting about any number of topics with their community.
Slot machine and online casino game streaming like Roshtein is another niche on Twitch with a growing following. Partly due to the pandemic, online gambling is seeing a surge in growth currently so more people have become interested in watching and streaming online casino games.
From all of the above to cooking shows and educational streams, the content available on Twitch is becoming extremely varied and it is exciting to see what creative new ways people will use to bring forward new content trends this year.
Sponsorship Deals and Brand Partnerships
The trends we’ve mentioned so far will all lead to more exposure and greater traffic figures for Twitch and its streamers. More exposure means more opportunities for brands to get themselves in front of their target audiences.
We already know brands partner with various streamers to sell more products but it seems likely even bigger brands will get involved in 2021. The community aspect of Twitch makes it an ideal place for brands to advertise.
Streamers and their audiences tend to build up a great deal of rapport and trust, which are real weapons when it comes to marketing.
Of course, influencer marketing of this kind isn’t new but Twitch just might be the most effective place for it and we think more organizations will see that this year.