In 2024, German streamers have put up more Hours Watched (HW) than in the entirety of the previous year. Among all the high-performing languages on Twitch over the last 12 months, it is fourth when it comes to the share of the platform's overall watch time.
It has just about outperformed another popular dialect, Japanese, helped by a year-on-year jump of 4% in its HW numbers. Its Peak Viewers (PV) numbers also went up by 30% compared to 2023, joined by rises in other metrics like stream count and airtime.
Last year, many of the most-watched content creators from Germany came up with special content, led by football broadcasts. Events like the Baller League and the Icon League caught the imagination of the German and global public as these media football competitions sought to challenge the success of Ibai "ibai" Llanos and Gerard Pique's Kings League.
There were also collaboration livestreams that gave fans a variety of content, with many of the below creators also making official merch available for hardcore followers. So much activity attracting healthy audiences reiterated the country's importance in today's livestreaming industry.
10 — Maximilian "HandOfBlood" Knabe
Perhaps the biggest mover among German creators in 2024 is HandOfBlood, a prominent German League of Legends streamer. He started his career with Let's Play videos on YouTube before briefly going pro and making a name for his exceptional mechanical skills and strategic insights.
Having primarily focused on content for horror games and simulators on YouTube till 2023, it was only last year that the 32-year-old began streaming on Twitch regularly. His loyal fans followed him on to the Amazon-owned platform, and with his content continuing to entertain thousands, he jumped a whopping 7477 places from 2023 to rank within the global top 100 for 2024.
Outside of livestreaming, HandOfBlood has parlayed his online success to start an esports team, Eintracht Spandau, which participates in the Prime League. He also has a team of the same name in the Ballers League that he owns alongside Hans Sarpei, the German-Ghanaian former footballer.
9 — Bastian "BastiGHG"
BastiGHG is one of Germany's top Minecraft streamers and YouTubers, often creating unique and challenging gameplay scenarios. His engaging commentary and humorous interactions with chat have made him a beloved figure among German-speaking audiences.
In 2024, the 27-year-old has continued to bless viewers with quality content on the sandbox game. He has also played quite a lot of GeoGuessr and League of Legends, even collaborating with other streamers for the former game, which has built a niche market for itself globally.
His recent livestreams have been especially fruitful, emerging among his channel's most popular. The content in these videos included coverage of The Stream Awards and a recent Eligella Cup based on Minecraft.
BastiGHG is also known for his philanthropic efforts, often raising money for various charities through streams. He has also been involved in other online ventures, including starting his own line of merchandise and even selling these products in partnership with other e-commerce sites.
8 — Rohat "xRohat" Celik
XRohat is one of Germany's most popular recent names when it comes to Grand Theft Auto V and its roleplay component. It was during the GTA RP boom of the pandemic era that his livestreams (he essayed the role of gangster Big Sosa) caught the attention of viewers. The 21-year-old's entertaining gameplay quickly attracted fans and increased his audience while also helping him get to know prominent personalities of the scene.
However, readers must note that he started his streaming career with Fortnite and Rocket League. Last year, his most-watched game has been Minecraft, with many of these livestreams involving fun and entertaining challenges.
XRohat also became one of Germany's first content creators to do a lengthy subathon, which eventually lasted around 20 days, back in 2021. It helped him immensely in attracting more subs and viewers, and he continues to come back to format, as he did earlier this month, where one subscription was equal to one minute added to his livestreaming time.
The online star has also spent a large part of his career, including last year, collaborating with other influencers. The nearly 20M HW he has accrued so far in 2024 has also helped him climb into the global top 100 by watch time for the first time.
7 — Maximilian "Trymacs" Stemmler
Another from the brigade of older German content creators, Trymacs is known for his comedic timing. He is particularly recognized for his Let's Plays videos, where he would often livestream games like Minecraft and League of Legends.
Fortnite, Epic Games' iconic builder shooter, remains one of his favorites, as the Hamburg resident also plays it professionally, although he doesn't represent any team. He also made a lot of videos on the game last year, be it from the competitive scene or his general playthroughs.
Trymacs also owns his own line of merchandise, which seems a sought-after means to earn extra income among the influencers seen on this list. He has also thrown his hat on the Kings League brand, partnering with Mario Gotze, Kevin "Papaplatte" Teller, and Younes Zarou to send a team from Germany to participate in the upcoming King World Cup Nations.
Interestingly, the 30-year-old was also part of the first season of the Baller League before pulling out of the project's second edition. The reasons are unknown, but this could be related to his decision to join up with ibai and Gerard Pique's rapidly growing hybrid football competition.
6 — Marcel "MontanaBlack88" Eris
MontanaBlack88 is one of Germany's oldest Twitch streamers who has hosted various events and livestreamed a lot in the IRL genre in 2024. The one-time most subscribed streamer on the purple platform has also been busy covering content in the Sports category, especially the Baller League.
This German media football league featuring local football stars and popular content creators has already seen two seasons of play, with founders Lukas Podolski and Mats Hummels announcing recently that it will expand to the US and UK with the help of Darren "IShowSpeed" Watkins Jr and Olajide "KSI" Williams, respectively.
MontanaBlack88 also recently hit a channel record for Peak Viewers for a livestream celebrating Christmas that had over 400 guests, including some of the most recognized influencers from Germany. The 262,562 concurrent viewers it hit put him third on the all-time list of most popular content creators from his homeland, behind only Jens "TheRealKnossi" Knossalla and Maximilian "Trymacs" Stemmler.
Outside of streaming, the 36-year-old is involved in various projects, including his own clothing line. Although he has courted controversies in the past, he remains beloved for his philanthropic activities and support of upcoming streamers.
5 — Erik "GRONKH" Range
GRONKH is one of the most influential German YouTubers and streamers of all time, and he still remains a major figure in the country's gaming community. He is particularly known for Let's Play videos, where he comments on and plays through various video games.
GRONKH’s fame has helped the 47-year-old cultivate a reputation among video game lovers, meaning his streams affect the dynamics of games. That is why, last year, his playthroughs of new releases like Palworld and Enshrouded played a part in making them two of 2024's most-watched titles on their release day.
GRONKH's diversity of content can also be seen in the fact that Just Chatting was his most preferred genre of choice in 2024, taking up over a third of his overall watch time. Moreover, like NoWay, he maintained his run as a top 100 global streamer by HW on the purple platform for one more year.
Outside of content creation, the Brunswick resident has been involved in various gaming-related projects, including his own game development studio. He also owns a website where each and every broadcast of his is available to fans, while livestreams run almost constantly to satiate viewers' hunger for more content.
4 — Mark "ohnePixel" Zimmermann
Perhaps Germany's most famous streamer internationally, given he primarily converses with his audience in English, ohnePixel has become an influential name in the community. He started off making Counter-Strike content, including unboxing skins and other cosmetics, and to this day remains a figurehead in the game's skin community.
The 26-year-old spent the majority of 2024 staking his claim as one of the most popular community casters in Counter-Strike tournaments, especially among German and English audiences. The game took up a huge chunk of his watch time, with the only other title to log one million HW being Elden Ring.
The self-professed "Counter-Strike skins guy" also recently parlayed his love for the legendary shooter by founding his own esports organization, Drillas. The team, helped by his overwhelming popularity among fans of the game, led the way as the Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024: Asia-Pacific RMR set several records.
3 — Frederik "NoWay4u_Sir" Hinteregger
A name that is now on the tongues of every League of Legends fan in Europe, NoWay4u_Sir is the game's biggest content creator in Germany. His exceptional mechanical skills and strategic insights have made him a favorite among fans of the game not only on the continent but globally.
The Munich resident has played for several professional teams, although it is with NNO Prime that he is best associated. Unsurprisingly, most of his time last year has been spent playing and covering matches from Riot Games' legendary MOBA, helping him finish among the game's top steamers for 2024 list as well.
NoWay's streaming career on Twitch has also been pretty solid, ranking among the global 100 by watch time for every year since 2020. In 2024, he was also roped in by Germany's representatives at the Kings World Cup, Youniors FC, to cover their games and provide a streamers' view of proceedings.
2 — Kevin "Papaplatte" Teller
Another highly recognized name from Germany, Papaplatte just about missed out on the top spot at the time of writing. However, with a week left last year, there is every chance that he overhauls eliasn97 to finish 2024 as the most-watched streamer from his country.
A couple of main attractions about the 27-year-old are his energetic personality and the variety of his content, which has helped develop a solid fanbase. That is also why the Red Bull Gaming athlete has exploded in popularity over the past two years, going from 764th in 2022 to 11th last year when it comes to global HW rankings on Twitch.
In addition to his streaming activities, Papaplatte has also been involved in other online ventures, including hosting the hugely popular Edeltalk podcast alongside longtime friend Dominik "Reeze" Reezmann. He also has his own merchandise store that has its logistics center in Germany and ships t-shirts to locations all over the world.
1 — Elias "eliasn97" Nerlich
One of the biggest streamers not only from Germany but worldwide, eliasn97 is well-known for his content and professional career in EA Sports FC/FIFA. Apart from football simulation games, he is also known to dabble in titles like Call of Duty and Fortnite.
In 2024, the 27-year-old had some successful livestreams, including touching the 200 Peak Viewers (PV) mark for the first time. This happened during his recent coverage of the final of the Icon League, a media football league featuring celebrities and personalities from across German football & pop culture that he founded alongside German legend Toni Kroos.
Eliasn97 is also the co-owner and CEO of Fokus Clan, which has teams in EA FC, Fortnite, and Valorant. Another venture that he has added to his portfolio of entrepreneurship is being the co-founder and CEO of the merchandise company Elevate Clothing.
Having begun playing football at the age of four, he has also been able to leverage his online stardom to play in a few amateur and semi-pro leagues, including playing in the Berlin Football Association's eleventh-class district league.
| Streamer | Watch Time (Hours) |
|---|---|
| 1. eliasn97 | 66 797 308
|
| 2. Papaplatte | 64 270 796
|
| 3. NoWay4u_Sir | 35 162 223
|
| 4. ohnePixel | 32 107 087
|
| 5. GRONKH | 27 862 426
|
| 6. MontanaBlack88 | 21 672 693
|
| 7. Trymacs | 21 594 271
|
| 8. xRohat | 20 245 651
|
| 9. BastiGHG | 17 528 570
|
| 10. HandOfBlood | 16 508 854
|
