Resident Evil: Requiem emerged as the biggest new game launch on livestreaming platforms in the first half of 2026, generating over 16 million more Hours Watched (HW) during its release week than any other title, according to Streams Charts data.
Other releases showed contrasting post-launch dynamics. Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream retained most of its debut-week watch time while attracting more streaming channels in Week 2. Subnautica 2, by contrast, opened strongly before recording sharp declines in both watch time and channel activity during its second week.
Tencent Games led the H1 2026 publisher ranking, while Riot Games, Rockstar Games, and Take-Two Interactive also surpassed 1 billion Hours Watched during the six months.
Streams Charts analyzes over ten major platforms and 61M+ channels, giving brands, publishers, and teams the insights they need to win the battle for livestreaming audiences. From real-time audience tracking to media value analysis, forecasting, and strategy consulting, we help you stay ahead in the fast-changing world of livestreaming.
Most-watched new video games in H1 2026
Resident Evil: Requiem generated 43.69 million Hours Watched across tracked livestreaming platforms during its release week. Over the same period, the game attracted more watch time than established titles including League of Legends, Grand Theft Auto V, and Counter-Strike.
Requiem suffered a 68.8% drop in weekly watch time, but its Week 2 total was still higher than the release-week figures recorded by seven of the top 10 games. The vast majority of its launch viewership also came from organic activity, with sponsored streams accounting for just 1.86% of release-week HW.
Crimson Desert delivered one of the strongest game launches of H1 2026, maintaining notable livestreaming activity beyond its debut week. The open-world action-adventure title from Pearl Abyss generated over 27.1 million Hours Watched during its release week and sold more than 3 million copies within its first seven days on the market.
Among its most-watched creators were Zack "Zackrawrr" Hoyt and Ben "CohhCarnage" Cassell, with the former also emerging as its most popular streamer by peak viewership. Crucially, Crimson Desert was backed by Twitch Drops over two phases, which helped it attract higher viewership as audiences tuned in to claim prizes like a gear set, consumables and cosmetics.
The game also enjoyed among the higher returns from sponsored streams on this list, with 6.10% of its H1 2026 watch time coming from this form of promotion.
Subnautica 2 ranked third among H1 2026 releases, with its early-access launch generating strong initial interest on livestreaming platforms. The underwater survival game from Unknown Worlds Entertainment reached 413,200 Peak Viewers on Twitch within its first 24 hours, ranking fourth among new game releases at the time.
Subnautica 2 peaked at 8,600 concurrent Twitch channels, with prominent streamers including Alan "alanzoka" Ferreira, Rubén "Rubius" Doblas, and Sergio "knekro" García broadcasting the game. It ultimately generated over 16.3 million HW during its release week, ranking third among H1 2026 launches.
Hytale's journey began years ago, and finally, in January 2026, after nearly a decade in development, it entered early access. And the wait was worth it, as the project, which positioned itself early on as a sandbox RPG with more structure than Minecraft, became one of the most-watched and discussed games on Twitch and the livestreaming world.
During its first reveal in 2018, Hytale quickly became a reference point for "what Minecraft could be with a modern RPG framework." And when it came out earlier this year, it attracted high engagement from renowned streamers like Dylan "CaseOh" Baker and Joaquín "Elxokas" Portela, who helped it generate just over 13 million HW in its release week.
Pokémon Pokopia is an ambitious spin-off that dominated video gaming discourse on Twitch and YouTube within hours of its debut. After all, the Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive served as the first full-fledged life-simulation title in Pokémon history.
It quickly became one of the highest-rated entries in the entire Pokémon catalog, outperforming other 2026 releases like Resident Evil: Requiem and Slay the Spire II by opening day peak concurrent viewership. Across its first seven days, Pokémon Pokopia racked up 12.9 million HW, with notable streamers like Kamel "kamet0" Kebir, Alan "alanzoka" Ferreira, and Maximilian "Trymacs" Stemmler part of the streaming list.
Sponsored streams accounted for the largest shares of release-week viewership for Crimson Desert, Gothic 1 Remake and Marathon, exceeding 5% of total HW for each title.
Retention stats of the most-watched 2026 video game releases
Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream recorded the strongest post-launch retention among the top releases, with watch time declining by just 9.2% between its first and second weeks. It was also the only title in the ranking to record growth in streaming activity during Week 2, with the number of channels increasing by 4.2%.
Some new releases also accounted for an outsized share of their publishers' overall livestreaming viewership. Crimson Desert and Hytale were the only tracked games from their respective publishers in H1 2026, while 007 First Light generated more than 75% of its publisher's total watch time for the period.
Most-watched video game releases in H1 2026
| Rank
| Video game
| Hours Watched
|
|---|---|---|
| 1
| Resident Evil: Requiem
| 43 692 090 HW
|
| 2
| Crimson Desert
| 27 191 663 HW
|
| 3
| Subnautica 2
| 16 317 380 HW
|
| 4
| Hytale
| 13 013 960 HW
|
| 5
| Pokémon Pokopia
| 12 961 634 HW
|
| 6
| 007 First Light
| 11 498 352 HW
|
| 7
| Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream
| 9 537 065 HW
|
| 8
| Forza Horizon 6
| 8 809 213 HW
|
| 9
| Gothic 1 Remake
| 7 925 925 HW
|
| 10
| Marathon
| 7 897 587 HW
|
Most-watched video game publishers in H1 2026
Level Infinite entered the H1 2026 top 10 after missing the Q1 ranking, generating 512 million HW, primarily through PUBG Mobile. Roblox Corporation finished higher with 765.4 million HW, driven by the continued popularity of Roblox across livestreaming platforms.
Blizzard Entertainment, MOONTON Games, and Garena retained their positions from the Q1 ranking, each generating between 600 million and 630 million HW. Their leading titles included World of Warcraft, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, and Free Fire, respectively.
Valve rounded out the top five with just over 958 million HW, retaining the same position it held in the Q1 2026 ranking. Dota 2 and Counter-Strike remained its key viewership drivers, with CS2 also recording one of its strongest years for esports viewership.
Rockstar Games and its parent company, Take-Two Interactive, ranked third and fourth, respectively, with both generating around 1.2 billion HW in H1 2026. Grand Theft Auto V was the leading title for both companies, accumulating more than 800 million HW across Kick, Twitch, and YouTube Gaming.
Riot Games ranked second with 1.3 billion HW in H1 2026, led by League of Legends. The PC MOBA generated close to 500 million watch hours across livestreaming platforms, remaining the publisher's largest individual viewership driver.
Tencent Games topped the H1 2026 ranking with more than 1.6 billion HW. League of Legends was its leading title through Tencent's ownership of Riot Games.
Most-watched video game publishers in H1 2026
| Rank
| Video game publisher
| Hours Watched
|
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tencent Games
| 1 655 863 428 HW
|
| 2 | Riot Games
| 1 318 307 668 HW
|
| 3 | Rockstar Games
| 1 210 612 661 HW
|
| 4 | Take-Two Interactive
| 1 195 209 034 HW
|
| 5 | Valve
| 958 077 834 HW
|
| 6 | Roblox Corporation
| 765 451 812 HW
|
| 7 | Garena
| 629 355,649 HW
|
| 8 | MOONTON Games
| 623 825 807 HW
|
| 9 | Blizzard Entertainment
| 617 114 800 HW
|
| 10 | Level Infinite
| 512 161 732 HW
|
