The Streaming Arena in 2015: Twitch’s Ascendancy and YouTube’s Entry
In 2015, Twitch was the dominant live game streaming platform after spinning off from Justin.tv (2011) and being acquired by Amazon (2014). It had 100 million monthly viewers, surpassing HBO Go’s traffic by 2014. Twitch’s gaming focus built a strong community. Partnered streamers earn via ad revenue sharing, subscriptions (typically $4.99 a month), and donations.
Launched in August 2015 to compete with Twitch, Google’s YouTube Gaming app and web portal consolidated gaming VODs (video on demand) and live streams. Utilizing YouTube’s infrastructure and features like 60fps streaming, the app didn’t gain traction, leading to its discontinuation in May 2019, with features integrated into YouTube’s main platform. While Hitbox, DouYu, and Huya Live emerged, Twitch dominated Western game streaming. Valve’s 2015 Steam Broadcast enabled in-client streaming but lacked Twitch’s wider scope.
