People watching videogame streamers or streaming videogames has risen throughout the world and Thailand in the past year, fueled by the rising popularity of E-Sports and the coronavirus lockdown.
According to popular streaming platform Twitch, the company saw 3.5 million new streamers between January and May of this year.
Between March and June, the number of active users on the platform doubled from 3.75 million in March to over 7 million in June.
The numbers echo Thailand statistics with the number of stream participants or viewers doubling on all platforms including Twitch, YouTube and Facebook Gaming between January and June this year, according to several videogame aggregators.
The coronavirus pandemic lockdown has undoubtedly contributed to the rise in users according to a research study by finance website Financial in Bold.
According to the FinBold study, users have also used the streaming platform to not only play videogames to a live audience but also used the platform to host impromptu talk shows and IRL (In Real Life Pursuits) such as music and art.
Twitch said that its most popular channel currently was IRL, which is less about gaming and more about hobbies and talk shows – a necessary outlet during the lockdown.
Thailand’s highest viewed streams continue to be FPSThailand and E-Sports Alliance with 10,000 regular stream participants.
