Twitch and its evolution in 8 key figures

Twitch is a platform that has evolved and undergone considerable transformation since its creation in 2011, while still retaining its primary identity. In this series of 3 articles, we will discuss how a platform dedicated to pure gaming has become a major communication channel on the internet. In this first article, we will present 8 figures that show the evolution of Twitch since its launch.

• $970 million

In 2014, the largest American companies began to sense the potential of Twitch. The platform was still young, but its figures were steadily growing. It was therefore logical that big players such as YouTube or Amazon would be interested in buying Twitch. Finally, an agreement was reached between Twitch and Amazon on August 25, 2014. Jeff Bezos therefore bought the streaming site for $970 million.

• 3.1 million viewers on Twitch simultaneously

This figure corresponds to the number of people connected to the platform simultaneously in 2021. By comparison, at the time of Amazon’s acquisition in 2014, there were 351,000 viewers connected at the same time on Twitch. In the short term, especially between 2019 and 2021, it was the pandemic and the many lockdowns that introduced Twitch to the general public.

• 100 million downloads

This figure corresponds to the number of downloads of the Twitch mobile application, launched in 2017. The application has a very good rating of 4.6/5 based on 3 million reviews on the PlayStore. For the app store, it has a rating of 4/5 based on 20,000 reviews, according to Pressecitron. The launch of the mobile application allowed Twitch to democratize itself on the internet, thus reaching a wider audience. Additionally, the mobile application provides quick and easy-to-consume content.

• 51,500 streamers with Twitch Partner status

Twitch Partner was launched with the aim of making the world of streaming more professional. When a content creator reaches a certain level of notoriety, they become verified through a badge, which adds value in negotiating deals. By comparison, in 2014, the Twitch Partner program had a first explosion, with 10,000 eligible streamers. We can thus observe a real professionalization of the streaming industry made possible by the platform’s skyrocketing growth.

• 24 billion hours

This is the total number of hours watched by platform users in 1 year, representing a 45% growth compared to 2020. This figure may seem vague, but it highlights the fact that Twitch users are not only growing but also spending more and more time on the platform consuming content. For comparison, Facebook gaming and YouTube gaming together accumulate 9.8 billion hours watched.

• 72.3% market share for Twitch

This is Twitch’s market share in the streaming platforms domain, largely ahead of YouTube Gaming with 15.6% and Facebook Gaming with 12.1%. These figures show Twitch’s overwhelming dominance in the field of live streaming on the internet.

• 2.5 million and 707,000 viewers

These two numbers respectively correspond to the world record and the French record for the number of people connected at the same time on a Twitch live stream. The world record is held by a Spaniard, who reached a peak of nearly 2.5 million viewers on a Fortnite skin discovery live stream. The French record was broken by Zerator during the Z-Event 2021, with a peak of 707,000 viewers.

• $2.3 billion in revenue

This value corresponds to Twitch’s revenue in 2020, a major and notable growth.

In 2017, the revenue of the purple-colored brand was $400 million, an increase of over 400% in 3 years. This growth only emphasizes all the previously given numbers, which confirm Twitch’s rapid rise in recent years. This makes it a major player in the digital ecosystem in France and around the world.

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Through these 8 figures, we have seen that Twitch is becoming and will continue to be a very influential platform in the world of online media and beyond. Therefore, we will discuss in a future article the evolution of the content offered on Twitch, starting from 2014 to the current available offerings on the site.