Right now, there are around 2.7 billion gamers worldwide. These gamers aren’t just playing, though. For many gamers (38%), watching is just as exciting as playing. Watching you say? Yes, watching! And it’s not just the stereotypical college kid in his parent’s basement. Moms are gaming, daughters are gaming, professionals are gaming, everyone is a gamer!
With such an emphasis on watching, it’s easy to draw some very clear parallels with this new game viewing audience and traditional broadcast media.
Comparing livestreaming to traditional broadcast media, the numbers make it clear how quickly the game viewing audience is growing. According to Twitch, 30 million unique users view Twitch streams daily. This amounted to a staggering 18.6 billion hours of content being consumed in 2020.
But who are these gamers made up of, exactly?
How gamers play around the world
Although once a niche audience, gamers are now hugely diversified. This is reflected in how they approach and experience gaming as a whole. Gamers are everyone!
The 2021 Newzoo Global Games Market Report established four key gaming groups. They are:
- Hardcore gamers: this group is made up of elite gamers dedicated to their craft. They often play in amateur or professional gaming leagues
- MidCore gamers: for this group, gaming is a primary hobby. They enjoy streaming and watching streams and are highly skilled gamers.
- Casual gamers: these gamers play several times a week and watch midcore and hardcore players to improve their own gaming skills.
- Hyper-casual: this group tends to be older and more mobile-focused. They often game when they have time to kill.
Gaming Groups Worldwide
How gaming audiences connect with one another
Different playing styles and dedication to gaming mean gaming groups approach gaming in unique ways. It’s for this reason that livestreams are a hugely popular way to engage with gaming without audiences needing to play.
With the focus being on watching, on the surface it might seem easier to compare livestreams to shows on traditional mediums rather than gaming. But unlike the one-way entertainment focus of traditional media, livestreams are highly inclusive.
Livestreams allow gamers to socialize, play and be entertained, making it a holistic entertainment experience. During a livestream, gamers can engage in three distinct ways. They can:
- Watch other gamers in tournaments
- Watch gaming influencers show them how to play games better
- Watch gaming influencers for entertainment and relaxation
Hardcore users tend to mostly be streamers, while most livestream viewers fall into the casual gamer – the largest group by far – or midcore gamer categories.
How Thece is tapping into the game viewing audience
Although gaming is seen as a growing opportunity amongst non-endemic brands, there is still a challenge in finding the best way to tap into the market. Thece’s approach is able to navigate the lack of standards.
Just like radio and TV, game viewing audiences have diverse tastes and have distinct livestream preferences. While one gamer might watch a livestream to hear their favorite streamer crack jokes, another might religiously watch esports events to support their preferred teams during competitions.
There are currently over 1.2 billion gaming livestream watchers, representing a wildly diverse collection of interests, age groups and demographics. Thece has access to one third of this growing audience, representing over 420 million people globally, ensuring huge potential for livestreaming ads.
If you’d like to make the most of this emergent audience, make sure to check out our advertising turnkey solution. To learn what’s possible with our Livestream Ad Network, take a moment to check out our esports page.