In Graphic Detail: The state of streaming highlights the power of creators

According to a Q1 2026 study from streaming software company Streamlabs and data analytics company Stream Hatchet, “Just Chatting” is now the most-watched category across the major streaming platforms. The non-gaming category, where streamers talk directly to viewers, has been boosted by creators who bring their audience with them for IRL streams, chat about their lives from home, or recap breaking news from behind a desks. 

Newer clip-friendly platforms like Kick, have only increased demand for creators who can build their own brands and communities — streamers like Braden “Clavicular” Peters — and, in turn, viewership.

“Twitch used to be entertaining gamers, now Twitch is entertainers that game sometimes, and even when they’re gaming, they’re entertainers,” Twitch CEO Dan Clancy told Digiday. “You have a whole new class of Twitch streamers that are not ‘gamer first’ streamers, they are entertainers, who maybe don’t game at all.”

With the live streaming market projected to grow sharply over the next several years, this shift is an important one to track. Ashray Urs, head of Streamlabs, suggested the growth in live streaming is partly a response to the deluge of AI-generated slop in the creator space. 

In the charts below, we’ve shown how streaming has become more about the creators and less about the games they play. 

Live streaming market projected to hit $318 billion by 2031

Credit: Mordor Intelligence

Market research firm Mordor Intelligence published a 2026 to 2031 live-streaming market report projecting its expansion, chalking it up to “creator-led entertainment” and “near-ubiquitous mobile connectivity.” The firm projects the market will reach $318 billion by 2031. The IAB reported earlier this year that the annual U.S. creator economy ad spend would reach $37.1 billion — expect that number to go up by 2031, as well. 

Mordor Intelligence placed Twitch at the top of its live industry leaders list, with YouTube right below it. It also suggested that the market concentration sat somewhere in the middle: not consolidated with just 1-5 major players, but also not highly competitive.

Twitch gets more than half of all total streaming hours watched 

Credit: Streamlabs and Stream Hatchet

Though the live streaming market isn’t as consolidated as others in the creator economy, and new platforms continue to gain steam, Twitch still reigns supreme in terms of hours watched, with 51.3% of the pie in Q1, according to Streamlabs and Stream Hatchet’s report.  

The report looked at major platforms including Twitch, YouTube Gaming, and Kick (which together accounted for the most hours watched globally), as well as emerging platforms like South Korea’s Afreeca and Chzzk (which made up 3.6% and 3% hours watched respectively). Total hours watched across all platforms increased from Q4 2025 to Q1 2026, rising from 20.90 billion to 21.49 billion. And year-over-year, total hours watched increased by approximately 2.87%, up from 20.89 billion in Q1 2025.

Kick stood out as one of the “fastest-growing platforms year-over-year,” according to the report, and Twitch recovered some of the ground it lost in both viewership and creator activity. 

“A lot of the Kick growth came through Just Chatting/IRL-type content that they really leaned into,” said Urs, who also credited the platform’s growth to its focus on building a clip marketplace. 

Urs said that Q1 2026 showed growth across all of streaming in both hours watched and hours streamed. “It was a stronger quarter,” he said. 

Twitch has the most hours streamed

Credit: Streamlabs and Stream Hatchet

Things get more interesting when looking at how many more hours Twitch streamers spend streaming (76% in Q1). If Twitch has more than three-quarters of streaming hours but just a bit more than half of watch hours, that suggests some oversaturation of creators on the platform. 

Meanwhile, Kick’s 14.4% hours watched to its 5.5% hours streamed suggests there are fewer creators on the platform, but they attract disproportionately large audiences. This could be due to Kick’s notably more lenient terms of service, its reputation for more controversial content, and the draw of high-profile creators like Clavicular and Adin Ross on the platform. 

Urs noted that Twitch has made progress in terms of sharing clips and amplifying creators’ content, which could help increase its hold on the streaming space. “That feels like a validation and a recognition that this is an area to grow,” he said. 

Creators’ personalities are the biggest draw on Twitch

Credit: Streamlabs and Stream Hatchet

Though Twitch streamers are playing Fortnite more than they are “just chatting,” Twitch viewers are tuning in for creators over game content. 

The Streamlabs Q1 report shows that, though the top game by hours streamed was Fortnite at 10.6 million hours, over 668 million hours were spent watching “just chatting” streams. 

Clancy told Digiday the popularity of these kinds of streams shows that viewers are looking for human connection and community.

“Interestingly, [streamers] make more money from their audience when they’re just chatting, because they’re more engaged with their community,” Clancy said. “People want to be heard.”  

Streamers are often paid directly by their fans, who spend platform-specific currency to get specialized emotes, custom messages, and more to drop in the chat. 

It’s important to note Twitch’s reputation as a top-heavy platform, in which viewership is concentrated amongst the top streamers. The biggest creators on the platform are just chatting, and they’re pulling in far more eyes than others, though Twitch has been working to help smaller creators build community and grow their following.

Just Chatting prevails across several platforms

Credit: Streams Charts

The desire for creator content (not video games) isn’t just obvious on Twitch, but across several major streaming platforms, per Streamlabs’ report. 

Streams Charts shows that Just Chatting is the top “game” on both Kick and Twitch over the last 30 days, with the IRL genre on Kick coming in third. Just Chatting on Bigo Live is the number eight most-watched “game” in the last 30 days, as well. 

The top creators on streaming platforms are increasingly more entertainers than gamers, but even when top creators are playing games, they’re doing so in a way that highlights their personalities. 

“Even when we look at like a lot of the streamers that have taken off that are very heavily gaming focused, someone like Burnt Peanut…he’s an entertaining personality,” Urs said. “Just Chatting and categories where you’re doing more variety gaming – you’re jumping into what the trends are…you’re doing a mix of like reaction content, playing games with friends, sometimes playing games on your own, sometimes IRL content, like the bar just kind of keeps being raised.”

Urs believes the “Just Chatting” and “IRL” categories will continue to grow across platforms, driven by creative personalities offering a salve to more “synthetic” content in the creative space. 

“There’s something very real and human, and it feels more important than ever to embrace that,” he said.