The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, one of the most anticipated games of the year, was finally released on May 12 (or May 11 in PDT, MT, and CT time zones), and fans have been busy exploring the lands of Hyrule. Judging by the reaction on Twitch, the game has offered gaming streamers lots of content to generate, as it sits in the top ten for all three basic metrics and leads the pack in peak channels over the past week.
This action RPG, open-world outing is a follow-up to the highly successful The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild from 2017, which many consider the best video game of all time. The pressure to succeed such a legendary title does not seem to have affected Nintendo, as the developer has produced a great game that anyone can pick up and enjoy.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has done 16.4M Hours Watched, 352K Peak Viewers, and 100K Average Viewers over the four days since its release, putting it in sixth, fourth, and sixth, respectively, for this period among all games on Twitch. Most impressively, it has been active on 9.5K peak channels, which is 12% more than the second-placed game.
The adventure title was only behind popular games like League of Legends, CS:GO, Valorant, and Grand Theft Auto V, while it did better than other all-time names like Minecraft, Apex Legends, and Fortnite. How it sustains itself over the long run remains to be seen, for that is what will go a long way in sealing its place alongside its predecessor as one of the best games ever.
Spanish streamers lead charge
When it comes to the streamers whose broadcasts of this new game were watched the most, those of a Spanish disposition led the table, with four such names being part of the top ten. Add in a German creator and Europe occupied half of this top ten table, proof that the predecessor was a huge success in this region and that fans were waiting for this new installment with much anticipation.
Asia is another huge market for Zelda games, and that was represented in the fact that there were four names from this region, including two from South Korea and two from Taiwan. The last name to round off this list was from Brazil, one of the biggest markets for video games today and land to some of the most popular broadcasters globally.
Comparison to other big video game releases in 2023
Some of the biggest titles to come out this year are Dead Space (7.3M HW), Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty (5.1M HW), Resident Evil 4 Remake (15.2M HW), Dead Island 2 (6.1M HW), Atomic Heart (6.6M HW), and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (7.1M HW). However, Nintendo’s new title blew all but two out of the water when comparing the viewership stats of the first four days post-release.
Hogwarts Legacy had a mammoth 39.1M HW, while Sons of the Forest sneaked past with 16.9M HW, thanks to the popularity of its first installment. There was also a renewed interest in the horror open-world genre after the release of the remakes of classics like Dead Space and Resident Evil and the zombie genre Dead Island 2.
When it comes to the legendary game set in the wizard world, it was perhaps the most anticipated game of all time when it was released, so there is no surprise it did so well in terms of the basic metrics. In fact, it became the most popular single-player game of all time on the purple platform, beating out the likes of Cyberpunk 2077, Elden Ring, and The Last of Us Part II.
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There is still a long way to go for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom to solidify itself as an all-timer of a game, but the start has been pretty auspicious. Considering the goodwill in the bank thanks to the success of its predecessor, there’s no doubt it will be hugely successful, so fans will keenly await the final verdict in a few weeks.