In Q2 2025, the livestreaming industry continued to heat up. TikTok Live maintained steady viewership quarter-on-quarter, whereas other top platforms YouTube Live and Twitch saw slight dips in watch time. Also, Kick experienced a significant growth spurt, now ranking as one of our Major livestreaming platforms. Amid fierce competition, TikTok Live has settled as a titan of livestreaming.
Last quarter, we took a deep dive into TikTok Live’s position in the market, its roots and content, as well as its gaming side. If you’re interested in a thorough look at the livestreaming platforms' story, check it out through the link below. This article will update the viewership statistics covered previously, with insights and updates to TikTok’s current market position.
According to data from TikTokStats.com, mobile gaming titles are massively popular on the mobile-based platform. TikTok’s origins as a go-to app for mobiles has given it a prime position to enter the livestreaming market here, and Q2 saw the platform cement its new place as a major player in the industry.
TikTok cements place as top livestreaming platform in Q2 2025
We covered the overall standings of the livestreaming scene in our usual Q2 2025 Global Livestreaming Landscape report, but for a short list of relevant highlights: TikTok Live maintained the #2 spot quarter-on-quarter, Amazon-owned competitor Twitch showed signs of downturn across all categories, and Kick enjoyed growth with new breakout streamers, more gaming content, and even football streams.
Focusing on TikTok Live specifically, gaming content continues to make up a significant portion of its total watch time, roughly 13% for Q2 2025. In total for the quarter, TikTok Live received over 8 billion Hours Watched (HW), significantly more than competitors like Twitch or Kick.
While fashion and beauty streams or chatting content might be the typical stream some imagine on TikTok Live, its livestreaming content is just as diverse and multifaceted as the classic short-form offerings of the app.
Most popular TikTok Live categories in Q2 2025
The Chats category remained highly popular on TikTok Live, although the gap to the next-most popular category, Fashion, narrowed slightly. Duo streams are a driving force of the Chats category, where two creators can go live together and collaborate as easily as sending an invitation within the app. The social aspects of TikTok Live broadcasting are unmatched in its potential in livestreaming.
Outdoors and Talents both grew slightly in size compared to Q1, while maintaining their relative positions in our ranking. Casual walks through cities, explorations deep into nature, or a passionate expression of artistic expression or other skills are all popular content across the livestreaming industry on other platforms like Twitch and YouTube, and TikTok Live is no different here.
Gaming viewership shifted slightly for Q2 on the mobile platform, with MLBB exploding ahead of the competition into the lead, growing by almost 20M Hours Watched this quarter. Roblox also jumped up significantly, marking an increase of a massive 50M HW. The growth of these two different games highlights a mixed viewership for casual titles and esports broadcasting: this mix of casual and competition has helped other platforms like Twitch and YouTube maintain solid viewership daily, while also having potential for sizable peak viewerships.
TikTok Live cemented its place in the livestreaming industry as other major platforms slipped slightly in Q2 2025. The mobile-based platform has found success with casual IRL broadcasts, and its gaming and esports sectors continue to grow alongside these larger categories. Keep an eye on TikTok Live’s growth, as the platform could quickly upset the status quo of top platforms in livestreaming.