In 2007 Justin Kan and Emmett Shear launched Justin.tv.
It did well, but the category that did best was gaming.
This led to the gaming content being separated off.
It was named Twitch TV and launched under this name in 2011.
In the first year of trading Twitch reached an impressive 3.2 million viewers every month.
It gained popularity quickly and, after the closure of Own3d.tv in 2013, it quickly became the most popular e-sports streaming service.
This led to the service being bought by Amazon for an impressive $970 million.
It turned out to be an excellent investment.
Thanks to careful management Twitch has achieved impressive growth.
How many people use Twitch today?
Twitch currently has over 140 million monthly users and is considered the most desirable online location for gamers and viewers within the e-sports community.
Key Statistics
- Twitch has 140 million active users per month
- 71 million hours of content is viewed daily
- 65% of Twitch users are male
- 73% of Twitch users are under 35
- The average user spends over 20 hours a week on the site
- Approximately 107,000 Twitch broadcasts are happening at any given moment
- There have been over 100 million downloads of the app
- The most watched title is ‘league of legends’
- Twitch receives $1.54 billion per year
- 9.4% of online video gamers stream via Twitch
How Many People Use Twitch in 2024?
1. Twitch Has 140 Million Active Users Per Month
It’s possible to claim large numbers of monthly users if you include the same visitor over and over again.
However, Twitch tracks unique visitors, only counting them once even if they visit the site multiple times in the month.
That makes the statistic of 140 million unique active monthly users impressive, especially as the platform is comparatively young.
(Twitch)
2. 71 Million Hours Of Content Is Viewed Daily
Not all visitors publish content.
However, a recent survey by the Business of Apps estimated 7.4 million streamers are publishing content monthly on Twitch!
That means there is always something different to watch, helping to explain how 71 million hours of video are watched every day
Of course, compared to YouTube’s 3 billion hours of video watched monthly, Twitch still has a long way to go.
But, Twitch is recognized as having 70% of the e-sports viewing audience.
So far, viewers have watched a total of 1.14 trillion minutes of video, approximately 1.86 billion hours each month since Twitch launched.
While Twitch hasn’t caught YouTube yet, it’s interesting to note that the average Twitch user watches 95 minutes of video per session.
The average YouTube user watches just 40 minutes per session.
(Business Of Apps)
3. 65% Of Twitch Users Are Male
Twitch Tracker logs all the user data and anonymously amalgamates it to create some interesting facts.
Perhaps one of the most interesting is the fact that 65% of Twitch users are male.
Considering gaming has traditionally been a male pastime, this figure isn’t that surprising.
In fact, it shows that women are becoming increasingly interested in the gaming and live video streaming scene.
This is also reflected in the popularity of the best female players.
Currently, Pokimane is the most popular female Twitch player and she has nearly 9 million followers!
(Twitch Tracker)
4. 73% Of Twitch Users Are Under 35
This isn’t that surprising.
Twitch has a large number of users which only view content on mobile devices.
As the majority of Millennials and Generation-Z prefer to surf the internet on a mobile, it makes sense that they would be the largest customer base for Twitch.
In other words, 73% of Twitch users are under 35 years of age.
Twitch actively targets this age group, making Twitch an excellent place to advertise, assuming your target audience is under 35-years-old.
This can be broken down further, 41% of users are between 16-24 years old.
That means 32% are between 25 and 34 years old.
The age group 35-44 makes up 17% of the customer base while 45-54 year olds take just 7% of the customer base.
Those aged between 55 and 64 make up just 3% of users.
(Twitch Tracker)
5. The Average User Spends Over 20 Hours A Week On The Site
Watching people’s games is exciting.
In many cases it’s not just the way a player can beat the game and move through the levels.
It’s often about how the player reacts to success or failure.
The most popular users aren’t necessarily the best gamers, they simply have honest reactions, which are usually extreme.
That makes them excellent to watch and is one of the primary reasons the average user spends an impressive 20 hours a week on the site.
The good news for Twitch is that, while the gaming industry has been in a slump, it’s now enjoying a growth period.
It’s expected to grow by 10.5% or more between now and 2026.
That means more content and potentially more users attracted to the channel.
(Twitch & Statista)
6. Approximately 107,000 Twitch Broadcasts Are Happening At Any Given Moment
Records show that the record for concurrent channels streaming at the same time was set in 2020.
At the end of the year there were over 200,000 streams active on the site.
This record has yet to be beaten, but it could simply be a matter of time.
The number of simultaneous streams, on average, is currently 107,000.
This number is significantly higher than in 2019 when there were just 49,000 streams.
This number jumped to 87,000 in 2020 and has continued to climb ever since.
It’s likely that the dramatic jump in streams was a reaction to covid-19 and the subsequent lockdowns.
While lockdowns may have triggered more interest in online gaming videos, the interest hasn’t abated after the lockdown.
Watch this space, at some stage the record will be broken.
(Twitch)
7. There Have Been Over 100 Million Downloads Of the App
Twitch is known as a gaming channel.
That’s where some people live stream themselves playing games and others watch.
However, that’s not the only thing this channel has to offer.
In fact, the most popular category on Twitch is ‘just chatting’.
That’s when users simply chat about games, performance, and skill levels, amongst other things.
This, and the number of people using the app, explains why there has been over 100 million downloads of the app, and the number is increasing daily.
(Business Of Apps)
8. The Most Watched Title Is ‘League Of Legends’
One of the most popular games of all time has been Fortnight.
It’s always been popular but the lockdowns elevated it to new heights.
During the first lockdown there were regularly 2 million plus people watching Fortnite streams.
However, that’s not the top ranking title! Grand Theft Auto V was streamed for over 25 million hours in 2021 and was watched for 1.8 billion hours.
It may have been out for over ten years but it’s still an exceedingly popular game.
As of May 2023, League of Legends has the top spot for most watched title.
It attracts millions of people to the site, partly because it’s such an immersive game and viewers feel like part of the experience.
Its record is over 2.2 million people watching and billions have watched it over the years.
In fact, since it arrived on the platform it has racked up over 40 billion viewing hours!
(Twitch Tracker)
9. Twitch Receives $1.54 Billion Per Year
Twitch gained millions of followers in its first year and quickly gained many more, bringing it to the attention of the biggest players on the web.
This led to offers to purchase the streaming service.
While Amazon got Twitch for $970 million, it’s believed that Google was also negotiating with Twitch.
The investment was worthwhile.
Today Twitch brings in nearly $250 million just from advertising revenue. Alongside this there are various other income streams, including subscriptions.
The result is that a business which was bought for $970 million, now regularly clears $1.54 billion a year in revenue.
Considering the ongoing popularity of the internet and streaming, it’s likely that this figure will grow rapidly in the next few years.
(Business Of Apps)
10. 9.4% Of Online Video Gamers Stream Via Twitch
Twitch has 140 million active and unique users every month.
It is seen as one of the leading social media platforms and generally regarded as the favorite platform for anyone in the gaming industry.
In fact, it’s currently listed as the fifth most popular social media platform.
That’s impressive considering Twitch focuses on gaming while some of the other social media channels allow virtually anything.
The current ranking is:
In first place, YouTube with 48.7% of gamers using it for streaming their games.
Second goes to Facebook with 41.7% of gamers admitting to using it when live streaming content.
Third place is Instagram, 34% of gamers stream their content on Instagram.
The Fourth slot goes to Twitter with 23.3% of users steaming on Twitter.
Finally, fifth place is taken by Twitch which is currently used by 9.4% of gamers.
(Games Industry)
Which Countries View Twitch The Most?
The largest country, by population, in the world is China with 1.44 billion people.
This is closely followed by India’s 1.38 billion.
In comparison, the US is small, with just 331 million people.
However, China has strict controls on internet access and what can be viewed and India has the largest proportion of the world’s poor.
It should be noted that Twitch did very well in China until late 2018 when the Chinese government banned the app as inappropriate for Chinese citizens.
That makes it less surprising that the US is the country that views Twitch the most.
21% of Twitch viewers are in the United States.
The US is followed by Germany with 7.11% of the viewership.
Strangely, the third spot is taken by South Korea, Russia takes 4th and France is fifth with 4.11% of the viewership.
The Future Of Twitch
Twitch has become instrumental to the gaming industry, especially as it recovers from its recent slump.
However, the industry needs more and the simplest way to boost interest is to pay the best gamers more.
This can be achieved via the use of sponsorship.
It will encourage a greater level of competition between players.
But, it’s worth noting most viewers feel sponsors shouldn’t just target individual players.
To really improve the industry and the gaming experience, sponsors need to sponsor events.
This encourages more players.
It’s good for the sponsors and the industry.
Summing Up
Twitch may only be a small part of Amazon’s business but it has proved to be a valuable investment.
The annual income, which approaches $2 billion, is considerably more than how much was paid for the business.
That’s a good thing for the future of Twitch, Amazon can afford to invest in the platform and will be rewarded with additional users; How many people use Twitch?
Over 140 million people per month.
With a little planning and patience this figure could double in the next five years.
The truth is live streaming is popular and becoming more popular.
It’s easy to do, fun to watch, and provides people with an opportunity to share their skills while earning some useful extra money.
With an increased interest in online activities instead of in-person, it’s time you took a closer look at Twitch as either a streamer or a viewer.
