eMarketer: US Twitch user numbers grew 26.2% during lockdown

eMarketer adds 4 million U.S. users to its 2020 Twitch forecast.

In the United States, video viewing platform Twitch has benefited greatly from the COVID-19 lockdown. Usage this year will jump 26.2% to 41.5 million, up from a forecast of 37.5 million users in February. In the United States, 17% of online video viewers watch content on Twitch, up 13.9% year-on-year.

“Twitch has benefited greatly from an overall surge in live video viewership,” said Peter Vahle, forecasting analyst at eMarketer. “While more people are watching video game streams on the platform, the rise of non-gaming channels like ‘music’ and ‘just chatting’ has also attracted many first-time viewers.”

Twitch's growth is also being driven by an increase in online game players, with the number of U.S. gamers set to jump 5% in 2020, the largest growth rate since 2015, to 174.7 million.

If a vaccine is approved, the COVID-19 pandemic ends in 2021, and the U.S. returns to normal, eMarketer expects growth in both Twitch users and general gamers to slow significantly.
199IT.com Originally compiled from: eMarketer. Please do not reprint without authorization