Streaming has taken off as the biggest form of entertainment today. It gains more viewers than TV and movies, and naturally a good amount of money while they’re at it.
There’s a wide variety of niche streamers exist in IRL streams, cooking shows, cosplay creation, music – to name a few. One thing, though, does generally form the backbone of the whole ‘streaming’ identity: gaming. Be it on console, PC, or mobile, gaming has become a central figure in which streamers can engage directly with their audience and entertain them.
There are certain games that become incredibly popular in a specific moment. However, there is, often, a strong range of games streamers play which attracts an audience.
Outside of the usual AAA games and indie games, online casinos are also a popular option. For instance, many streamers center their content strategy around online slots found on providers listed on Time2play. There is no single game or game type that doesn’t hold an audience.
Essentially, one of the key things streaming offers gaming is a way for it to be ‘professional’. But who’s worth watching? We’re breaking down the most popular streamers on Twitch and YouTube right now.
Ninja
It was obviously going to be Ninja. The pioneer of the game streaming world, the one that knocked the fabled PewDiePie off his pedestal and became the face of streaming in the mainstream media. This likely means he had to answer the same question of “Why are people watching you play a game?” thousands of times by now.
He hasn’t been knocked from his highest place of 17.5 million followers in the years since he burst onto the scene either, which is commendable. Just because you’re first often doesn’t mean you’re
Sykkuno
Ah, Sykkuno. Is there a more pure being on this earth? This GTA V streamer is the ultimate test of whether violent games are really corrupt, and we would have to conclude that the experiment has failed. He is simply too adorable for even the GTA world. His 4 million fans would surely agree, adding him to fan art with large eyes you could drown in and his wide range of friendly collaborative gamers allowing him quite the interesting angle when they play Among Us together.
Hasan Piker
Hasan Piker is an odd one, in that the gaming aspect, mainly around Fortnite, takes a back seat to his ongoing activism. Hasan is a very vocal steamer, calling himself a political commentator and often weighing in on any issue of the day.
Hasan is a rare example of making it even without gaming, as he is the exception on a list of massive streamers who hasn’t relied on his occasional Fortnite playing to gain an audience of 2 million viewers on Twitch alone. And that’s all considering the polarizing subject of politics is all over his branding and content.
Daniel Negreanu
Daniel Negreanu might not be immediately known to fans of the likes of Minecraft or Fortnite, but he is a gaming streamer. The fans of the poker scene will know his name well. You will often see him streaming not only his day-to-day life but his time in Las Vegas entering the World Series of Poker tournament every year, wracking up millions of dollars in winnings and a few poker bracelets, the equivalent of a trophy in the poker world.
But in the months between tournaments, he is often found on Twitch playing online poker games. He can be matched up with other poker players and play online, teaching his fans strategies and giving intense gaming entertainment. You and 124k other followers can find him playing, from his bed apparently, on Twitch.
Dream
Dream is a semi-controversial figure in the gaming space, perhaps due to the mystery that surrounds him. Having never shown his face beyond the hastily scrawled smiley face that makes up his profile pictures, nor really given out much about his life, we can only deduce that he is an American streamer with a love of Minecraft.
The 2x Streamy Award winner is one of the biggest players on the platform, with 29 million subscribers on his YouTube channel alone. He is known for his speedruns, of which comes about his biggest controversy: cheating… or not? It depends on who you ask.
Tommy Innit
Remember the kid that went viral for yelling “My college essay is due tomorrow!” and promptly logged off? Outsiders looking in might have just thought it was a one and done moment, lost to the ether, but the gaming fans know that Tommyinnit is a dedicated YouTuber and Twitch streamer with 11.6 million subscribers on his YouTube page, mainly centered around Minecraft.
The cutesy kid, or rather adult, now having turned 18 this year, from Nottingham appeals to gamers who like a good old-fashioned laugh in their content. Keep the edgelord jokes and the politics aside and just build something in Minecraft once you’ve finished your college work.
Marshmello
Electronic music producer Marshmello has recently got into the gaming sphere, launching his Fortnite content alongside his music and even cooking content on his channel, which is home to 55.1 million subscribers.
The “Silence”, “Wolves”, and “Friends” producer known for his smiley face bucket head mask, does everything with it on, even gaming. Granted, most of the time it’s for a charity event or a bit of fun, but he’s got quite the personality and some skills behind that mask.
