Was FIFA able to maintain its lead among the sports games in 2021 or was it thwarted by the Rocket League? In the new article, we will look at which titles of the “Sports” genre were in the top 5 most popular on Twitch, as well as how the ranking has changed compared to 2021.
Disclaimer: the ranking of the top sports games is based on Hours Watched. Poker was excluded from the ranking, as it is primarily a game of chance. Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout was also excluded because it has nothing to do with sports.
Top sport games on Twitch in 2021
| Place
|
Game
|
Hours Watched
|
| #1
|
FIFA 21
|
247.5M
|
| #2
|
Rocket League
|
198.13M
|
| #3
|
FIFA 22
|
154.46M
|
| #4
|
Chess
|
138.06M
|
| #5
|
NBA 2K21
|
47.43M
|
| #6
|
NBA 2K22
|
27.74M
|
| #7
|
TrackMania
|
25.62M
|
| #8
|
iRacing
|
19.72M
|
| #9
|
F1 2021
|
13.54M
|
| #10
|
MLB The Show 21
|
13.42M
|
FIFA 21 was the most popular sports game of 2021. This football simulation game series has been around for 28 years and is still popular with both players and viewers! Comparison of the Hours Watched of FIFA 20 and 21 shows that the latter overtook its predecessor by 39%.
Every fall, Electronic Arts releases a new version of the game, improving the graphics and adding new content. Therefore, the top games of the year always include not one but two versions of FIFA. For the same reason, FIFA 22 was only at the third spot in our ranking, gathering 154M Hours Watched. The game was released on September 26, 2021, so it didn't manage to overtake its predecessor.
The most popular streamer of FIFA and all sports disciplines is again the American Castro_1021. He amassed 36.2M Hours Watched over the year. The second spot is taken by the GM Hikaru Nakamura. On his streams, he not only broadcasts professional tournaments but also plays chess with the platform's popular content creators. From the popular streamers, Brazilian Gaules (streamed NBA 2K21) and German Trymacs (streamed FIFA 21) also managed to enter the ranking. FIFA has become the top category for eight streamers in the ranking out of ten.
The second in terms of popularity is the arcade racing game Rocket League with 198M Hours Watched. The title’s Hours Watched have increased by 32% since 2020. The title has attracted more interest both in terms of streaming and esports. Firstly, the official RLCS league has changed its format: the majors are no longer regional but are instead held within the framework of a single event – which had a positive effect on views. Secondly, popular organizations signed Rocket League rosters in 2021, and more regional broadcasts appeared as well (for example, the one from Maincast in the CIS).
The fourth spot belongs to Chess with 138M Hours Watched. The section moved up one spot compared to 2020 and increased its Hours Watched by 89%. Previously, chess players competed entirely online due to the pandemic, but now even offline tournaments are being streamed on Twitch, which has served to further increase the category's audience. The section was also influenced by the FIDE World Championship 2021, which set a new record for chess with 613K Peak Viewers.
Closing the top 5 is NBA 2K21 with 47M Hours Watched. The title pushed its predecessor series out of the rankings while showing a 19% Hours Watched increase as compared to 2020. The top 10 also featured a new version of the game, NBA 2K22 – although it did not reach the top 5 due to being released at the end of the year. Following the same logic as with FIFA, we can say that next year the 2022 version will occupy a spot higher than that of its predecessor.
The next three spots are occupied by the racing games – TrackMania, iRacing and F1 2021. Note that in 2020 only one racing simulator got into the ranking, which means that interest in the genre has definitely grown. This was achieved not in the least thanks to esports, given the official esports competitions held on TrackMania and iRacing – which serve to further increase the audience.
The last spot in the top 10 belongs to MLB The Show 21, a baseball simulator. In 2020, games in this sports discipline did not make the top 10, making this an achievement (however small) for the baseball genre.
Twitch results in 2021:
- Most popular categories on Twitch in 2021
- Top Female Twitch Streamers of 2021
- Most watched streamers of 2021
- The most watched esports channels in 2021
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