Video game livestreaming

Professional streamers often combine high-level play and entertaining commentary, and earn income from sponsors, subscriptions, ad revenue, and donations.

Independent titles such as Fall Guys, Rocket League, and Among Us are examples of games that have experienced a huge increase in player base as a result of streaming.

Through live streaming, viewers can watch experienced or entertaining video game players while immersing themselves in a virtual audience of like-minded people.

[8] Other notable video-game oriented streaming websites include Microsoft's Mixer, which shut down in July 2020, Smashcast.tv, which was formed after the merging of Azubu and Hitbox.tv, the South Korea-based afreecaTV, and many China based sites like Huya Live, DouYu and Bilibili.

[9][10] Live streaming has brought attention to previously obscure video games such as Rocket League, Fall Guys, and Among Us.

Free-to-play games cost no money to buy and play but offer purchasable items in-game in order to turn a profit.

A study has shown that watching esports events provides viewers with a sense of escapism, social interaction, and enjoyment, which can lead to increased gaming activity and higher expenditure on in-game purchases.

[14] Older titles, such as Super Mario 64 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, have seen renewed popularity due to speedruns, or rapid completions, facilitated by live streaming.

[15] Popular eSports titles include Call of Duty, Counter Strike: Global Offensive, Dota 2, Fortnite, League of Legends, and Overwatch.

[19] Live chat logs enable this interactivity through features like subscriber emotes – emoticons that viewers can use if they pay a subscription fee to support their favorite streamer.

[19] These emotes are often designed specifically for each streamer reflecting their personality or unique language style allowing dedicated fans to communicate in their own way and making video game live-streaming even more immersive.

[20] In 2020, American politician Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez live streamed herself playing the popular game Among Us with other streamers who have large followings in an effort to encourage people to vote in the 2020 United States presidential election.

[26] Streamers can also become sponsored, or offer rewards in the form of competitions or games to the viewers in order to promote their channel and increase viewership and monetization.

For example, a teenage viewer showed up uninvited to a streamer's house and requested to stream with him after having saved up for a one-way transcontinental flight.

LAPD arrested 25-year-old serial-swatter Tyler Raj Barriss, known online as "SWAuTistic" and "GoredTutor36", in connection with the incident, who was later sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for the offense.

[37][38] In November 2018, live streamer Ninja controversially threatened to report a player who he thought had killed him in Fortnite by stream sniping.

[7] Popular titles in the mid-2010s include League of Legends, Dota 2, first-person shooters such as Counter Strike: Global Offensive, and card games such as Hearthstone.

Viewers are more interested in players who play and entertain well, offering jokes, pop culture, and current event commentary instead of repetitive gameplay.

Streamers also recommend keeping a schedule so viewers know when to watch, self-promoting on social media, and holding giveaway contests to increase followers.

[42] The following is a list of sites that primarily focuses on video game live streaming, including broadcasts of eSports competitions, in addition to other types of content.

Streamers can also be suspended, due to complaints under laws such as the U.S. Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act, or automated content matching.

More than 10 popular Twitch streamers, including Félix "xQc" Lengyel and Zachary "Sneaky" Scuderi, were banned for 24 hours for allegedly playing a song by Juice WRLD in June 2018.