Twitch Sees 2% Decline in Viewership for August

In August, Twitch recorded 1.73 billion hours of viewership, marking a 2% drop from the previous month, as reported by StreamElements and Rainmaker. gg's State of the Stream monthly report. This decrease brings an end to Twitch's four-year streak of consecutive growth in daily viewership hours, which averaged 56 million in August. According to the report, factors contributing to this dip include reduced streaming from top creators and a decline in viewership for legacy games. The report noted, "While the reason for the decline in August is unclear, several factors likely contributed, including top streamers reducing their streaming schedule and classic games experiencing a drop in viewership." Baldur's Gate 3 made a strong debut as one of the most-watched games of the month, joining the ranks of Grand Theft Auto and Valorant, while League of Legends and Dota 2 saw a decline in viewership. The State of the Stream report highlighted that "for the past six years, League of Legends and Dota 2 have consistently seen more viewing hours in August than in July, but this trend was broken in August 2023, with both games experiencing a decline in viewership." The top games on Twitch for the month were: Grand Theft Auto 5 with 103 million hours, Valorant with 100 million hours, League of Legends with 93 million hours, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive with 62 million hours, Baldur's Gate 3 with 45 million hours, Minecraft with 42 million hours, Escape from Tarkov with 40 million hours, Fortnite with 40 million hours, and Dota 2 with 36 million hours. StreamElements co-founder Or Perry commented, "Twitch's strength lies in its ability to balance familiar faces and games at the top of its charts with new entries, demonstrating the platform's dynamic nature."