StreamElements: Mobile games are growing on YouTube but not Twitch

StreamElements released its latest monthly report, covering the state of streaming in June. According to this report, YouTube Gaming and Twitch are starting to diverge in types of content. Also, while Twitch’s numbers are fluctuating slightly, Facebook Gaming is on the rise.

According to data from Rainmaker.gg, StreamElements’ analytics partner, Twitch is still in the lead as far as livestreaming goes. Its numbers are down somewhat — from 1.8 billion hours watch in May to 1.7 billion in June. But the numbers have been declining somewhat all year, in part because viewers are starting to venture out again. Facebook Gaming, of all things, is seeing a big surge: It went from 350 million hours watched in May to 425 million hours watched in June.

YouTube Gaming is still behind Twitch in livestreaming content, but it’s doing well on its own. Curiously, it seems that one way the two services differ is that YouTube Gaming shows a preference for mobile gaming. The top 10 on YouTube includes games like Garena Free Fire, Battlegrounds Mobile India, and Mobile Legends Bang Bang. None of those games are present on the Twitch top 10 list.

Other changes include the growing popularity of VTubers on YouTube. Two VTubers, Kuzuha and Kanae, broke into YouTube’s list of top 10 streamers. On Twitch, streamer ibai just barely edged out xQc for the top spot, thanks to his recent La Velada Del Año II boxing event. He set a Twitch viewership record with around 3.5 million concurrent viewers during the event.

Rachel Kaser

Rachel Kaser is a gaming and technology writer for from Dallas, Texas. She's been in the games industry since 2013, writing for various publications, and currently covers news for GamesBeat. Her favorite game is Bayonetta.