Summary
Twitch has long dominated the games streaming scene, proving more popular for streamers than sites likeYouTubedespite a controversial history. This has reached a fever pitch recently, withYouTubebeing hit by a mass exodus of streamers.
Both YouTube and Twitch have caused many a community uproar, with Twitch seeing a barrage of upsets in the last year, but the status quo has remained. DespiteYouTube sporting more hours streamed, idle streams contribute to much of that number; Twitch has a clear upper hand in games streaming. According to Streamlabs data, though viewership for Twitch gaming in Q2 2024 has dipped below Q4 2020 levels, Twitch currently outpaces YouTube Gaming by about 3 billion hours of watchtime.
YouTube Streamers Are Returning To Twitch For Better Revenue And More Features
YouTube appears to be bleeding streamers, with big names like Myth, LilyPichu, and FaZe Swagg leaving the platform. Moreover, the latter two haveheaded off to Twitch—a move similar to the multistreaming taken up by faces such as DrLupo and TimTheTatman. This sudden shift away from YouTube is, for many of these streamers, in conjunction with exclusivity contracts ending—suggesting that the terms of said deals was the sole incentive for these influencers sticking around. For many streamers, Twitch offers better features and revenue—even if many viewers prefer the simpler, less commercial YouTube experience.
Twitch Has More Chat Features
Streamers like Ludwig Ahgrenand Penguinz0 have, in light of this issue, pointed out Twitch’s better chat experience. On Twitch, streamers can have more of a say in moderation, introduce specialized emotes, and have messages that are live by default (rather than YouTube’s out-of-order relevancy filter). The platform also ensures that moderation takes place, going further than YouTube’s more laissez-faire approach. That said, YouTube does offer viewers a better experience in many areas, primarily with video resolution. Twitch’s bitrate limits do lead to lower video quality, though its incredible popularity demonstrates that this isn’t an issue for some.
Twitch Offers A Bigger Payout
Penguinz0, who used to stream on Twitch, also pointed out how many more revenue streams Twitch offers. Ads, bits, and subs are all big parts of a streamer’s income there, but the Prime sub is pivotal; these subs can be given to streamers for free, yet the streamer still gets paid for them. The scope of this was also demonstrated by Penguinz0 in a video from 2020, where he revealed that he was earning $77k a month off Twitch subs (Prime and non-Prime) alone. Of course, this won’t be anywhere near what the average streamer earns, but it serves as an important case study into the earning power granted by the platform.
This Twitch Switch May Be Hurting Fans
Thepotential to earn on Twitchis a double-edged sword, however, as it’s an aspect that hurts the experience for many viewers. YouTube fans who hear about their favorite streamers changing platforms to Twitch are quick to complain about ads, and with some good reason. Twitch is far more aggressive with ads when compared to YouTube, putting a significant damper on the experience. Add to this the fact that YouTube streamers can be rewound and viewed in higher resolution, it’s understandable as to how this shift could be a bugbear.
On the other hand, viewership numbers show that Twitch’s core audience remains strong. TimTheTatman stopped streaming on Twitch in 2021—only to multistream in 2024. Rather than losing steam on the platform he’d left for 3 years, recent streams have seen splits of 30k on Twitch compared to 19k on YouTube. While YouTube still sits comfortably above other games streaming competitors, such as the defunct Mixer orthe much-maligned Kick, Twitch is unlikely to have its throne shaken anytime soon.
