Non-gaming content drives surge on new streaming platforms in Q1 2025

Live streaming viewership reached 8.9 billion hours watched during the first quarter of 2025, an 8.9% increase compared to the same period in 2024, according to Stream Hatchet’s Q1 2025 “Video Game Live-Streaming Trends” report.

The growth was primarily driven by platforms other than Twitch.

Twitch, while still the largest individual platform with 59% of total viewership, recorded a 6.9% year-over-year decline. Meanwhile, YouTube Gaming increased its hours watched by 25%, bolstered in part by Twitch’s 2024 exit from the South Korean market. YouTube Gaming captured a 21.7% share of the total viewership, while Kick expanded its share to 8.6% after reporting a 112% year-over-year increase.

South Korean platforms also continued their expansion. SOOP Korea, rebranded from AfreecaTV, and Chzzk together accounted for 5.9% of the global live-streaming market. Chzzk alone recorded 238 million hours watched in Q1 2025.

Non-gaming content continued its upward trajectory, rising 25.6% compared to Q1 2024. This segment benefited from major increases on platforms such as Kick, Chzzk, and SOOP Korea, which each saw approximately 94% growth in non-gaming hours watched.

Esports viewership decreased by 2.3% year over year, a trend attributed to fewer tournaments rather than declining interest. 

In terms of individual games, “League of Legends” remained the most-watched title but recorded a 3% quarter-over-quarter decline. “Counter-Strike” posted the largest growth among top titles, with a 55% increase linked to major tournaments such as “Intel Extreme Masters Katowice” and “ESL Pro League Season 21.” “Grand Theft Auto V” retained the second spot despite a 6% decline ahead of the highly anticipated release of “GTA VI.” 

Among content creators, Caedrel emerged as the most-watched streamer, recording a 20% increase in hours watched compared to the previous quarter. 

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The Sidemen Charity Match was the highest concurrent-viewership gaming-related event of the quarter, peaking at 2.5 million viewers on YouTube. Other major peaks included Nintendo’s Direct stream, which topped 1.1 million concurrent viewers, and ibai’s Twitch stream announcing the La Velada del Año V lineup, which peaked at 777,000 viewers.

Despite an overall decline in Twitch’s total viewership, brand engagement remained significant. Minecraft continued as the most mentioned brand in Twitch chats, though mentions fell by 10%. Disney’s Marvel brand saw significant growth in mentions, propelled by the launch of Marvel Rivals, climbing to third place from 24th in the previous year.