Sponsored streams continue to be a big part of the entire streaming experience today, with content creators airing a lot of such videos to promote brands and add to their already lucrative paychecks. Fans get to see collaborations between different broadcasters and companies, and many times, they turn out to be quite entertaining, especially if the handle in question is known to churn out clips that blow up on social media.
Speaking of churning out, with three months of the year gone, it is time again to look at the top sponsored streams of the first quarter of 2023.
Most watched sponsored Twitch streams from Q1 2023
Surprisingly, the largest sponsored Twitch streams for the first quarter of 2023 all came from February. Top of the pile was the popular Fextralife, which paired with Warner Bros. to promote the highly-talked-about Hogwarts Legacy. The broadcast did a smidgen more than 1M Hours Watched, aided by the availability of Twitch drops for in-game items.
Second was IlloJuan’s playthrough of the first two hours of the revamped Dead Space that was released in January. He also played Hogwarts Legacy during this stream, although it was the hype for Electronic Arts’ classic survival horror reboot that helped it land 602K HW. This number came in about a fourth of the time broadcast by Fextralife, proving how popular the Spaniard and the game he promoted are.
In the third spot is alanzoka, who also tied up with Warner Bros. to boost Hogwarts Legacy. The in-demand Portuguese streamer notched 340K HW and had the highest engagement rate of 11.21% among the five names on this list. More importantly, these sponsored streams for the open-world game worked, as they helped it become a raging hit among fans and critics.
Next comes KingGeorge, whose sponsored content came for famous names like GFUEL (gaming and esports energy drink), Corsair (gaming accessories and components), and Elgato (audiovisual technology for content creators and WFH pros). The broadcast was highly lucrative because it had a massive giveaway as part of the Gaming Bundle Vast Campaign. Winners could lay their hand on LT100 Lighting Towers, LC100 Case Accent Panels, an MM700 RGB Mouse Pad, and an M65 RGB Ultra Wireless, helping the stream claim 336K HW.
The top five are rounded off by Towelliee, who promoted Origin PC (a custom personal computer manufacturing company) and Corsair. While an American streamer also played World of Warcraft, he ensured to bring in sponsored content for these two luxury brands. The broadcast included drops for viewers and two Corsair 2TB M2 SSDs, which helped it record 246K HW.
Most watched sponsored YouTube Gaming streams in Q1 2023
In first place on this list was Sykkuno, whose sponsored stream of Konami’s Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel did 35K HW. Celebrating its first anniversary, viewers were encouraged to download the game, log in, and claim rewards. Audiences even saw a Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel Tournament, where the American content creator and other popular internet personalities went head-to-head.
Typical Gamer came in next thanks to his promotion of Hogwarts Legacy in English. The stream was a PS5 gameplay walkthrough sponsored by Warner Bros. where he also played a bit of Fortnite at the start, aiding it in doing an impressive 31K HW. Such was the Canadian's consistency and fame that he topped the YouTube Gaming lists for January and February while finishing third in March.
Third was fuslie, one of the names among female streamers globally, as she also teamed up with Konami for Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel’s 1st Anniversary Invitational. Her stream registered 22K HW, aided by the fact that she participated in the tournament and beat Sykkuno during their match. The 100 Thieves content creator is a regular on such lists, proving her popularity and ability to churn out quality content regularly.
Another 100T name, co-owner Valkyrae, was fourth, thanks to her English stream promoting the movie Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, which came out on March 31, 2023. The mega-popular content creator hit 21K HW, as she and her roommates organized a party with a D&D theme, sponsored by Paramount Pictures.
Typical Gamer comes in fifth, as his stream for Bungie’s massively-popular action role-playing, first-person shooter, Destiny 2, notched 21K HW. The game’s newest major expansion, Lightfall, was released on February 28, 2023, and the online personality had a sponsored stream that started with some Fortnite gameplay before moving to the main game.
