Top video game publishers of Q1 2026

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The first three months of 2026 were stacked with quite a few noteworthy video game releases, including new entries in some prominent franchises. While their success has attracted deserved praise, the list of the most-watched game publishers remains one dominated by names with legacy titles in livestreaming and esports.

The top ten of this all surpassed 200 million Hours Watched (HW) in Q1 2026, with TikTok's continued rise across demographics and regions emerging as a talking point. With that in mind, Streams Charts has collated the ten most-watched video game publishers in the first quarter of this year based on the combined watch time of their games across livestreaming platforms.

Was Mojang Studios among the most-watched video game publishers in Q1 2026? 

Mostly a one-game studio, Mojang has been among the most renowned publishers over the past two decades thanks to the success of Minecraft. The sandbox game remained a goldmine of content on Twitch and YouTube, but what caught the eye was the fact that it gained more consistent traction on TikTok than Kick in Q1 2026. Different versions of the title, like Dungeons and virtual reality (VR), also found niche spaces, while Cobalt, the action side-scrolling video game, was the only non-Minecraft entry.

How did Garena perform in Q1 2026 livestreaming?

One of the most prominent mobile gaming publishers today, this Singapore-based global online games developer and publisher finished ninth for the first quarter of the year. Garena's portfolio is almost exclusive to titles popular in South and Southeast Asia and Brazil/Latin America (LATAM). Top of the pile remains Free Fire, which has become one of the biggest crazes on TikTok among video game lovers, as a majority of its HW numbers in this period came from this platform. Garena also supports and organizes tournaments for games like Delta Force, FC Online and Garena Liên Quân Mobile (Vietnamese version of Arena of Valor).

Which Moonton games were most popular in Q1 2026?

In the eighth spot is another massively popular mobile game developer, Moonton, which just about crossed 300 million HW in Q1 2026. Mobile Legends: Bang Bang continued to be its premium offering, with the game, like Free Fire, finding its biggest audience on TikTok. However, another more recent game, Magic Chess: Go Go, has also caught the attention of streamers and viewers, emerging as the international video game company's second most-watched title.

What were Blizzard Entertainment's top games in Q1 2026?

The name behind popular franchises like World of Warcraft, Diablo and StarCraft comes in seventh, having accumulated 322.4M HW in Q1 2026. World of Warcraft was by far its most successful game in this period, reaching almost 140 million HW on Twitch alone. Interestingly, Overwatch 2 was its second-most-watched title, with this growth coming from its major Season 1 update in late January. StarCraft took the third spot here thanks to its popularity in South Korea, which ensured it got 29.8M HW on SOOP Korea in the first quarter.

How did Roblox Corporation rank in Q1 2026?

This entry comes from the efforts of just one game, Roblox, which rode on the popularity of certain games to rack up a tad over 400M HW in Q1 2026. Again, TikTok emerged as the title's biggest content source, contributing around 80% to the above total. One of the biggest reasons for this online game creation system doing so well was the success of titles like Steal a Brainrot and Brookhaven RPm, with the latter creating a record for the highest all-time visits.

What were Valve's most-watched titles in Q1 2026?

Valve remains one of the most followed names in the video gaming industry, thanks to the popularity of titles like Counter-Strike 2 and Dota 2. Both titles not only enjoy high viewership among livestreaming audiences but also possess loyal esports followings that catch all of their competitive action. These games are complemented well by other prominent offerings across genres like Team Fortress 2, Left 4 Dead 2 and Half-Life 2.

How did Take-Two Interactive perform in Q1 2026?

The parent company of multiple successful video game developers and publishers, Take-Two Interactive, has been in the news due to the hype surrounding the impending arrival of GTA 6. In Q1 2026, the company touched almost 580M HW, led by the success of Grand Theft Auto V across platforms like Twitch and Kick. Red Dead Redemption 2 also continues to be a cult choice among online gamers, while those of a more nostalgic disposition regularly visit titles like Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.

What were Rockstar Games' top streaming titles in Q1 2026?

Rockstar Games, a highly successful subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive, sneaked past its parent company to make the podium places. A bulk of the firm's viewership comes from the legendary GTA V and its role-playing components, with servers like Respect RP and No Pixel RP enjoying millions of players globally. Then there's the role-playing component for Red Dead Redemption on Kick, which might not be as popular, but enjoys a healthy set of eyeballs on the Stake-backed platform.

How did Riot Games rank in Q1 2026?

Riot Games comes in the second position after putting up over 763 million HW in the first quarter of 2026. The American video game developer, publisher, and esports tournament organizer gets most of its audience reach from League of Legends and Valorant, with both titles also being among the most-watched esports offerings globally. Teamfight Tactics, Hytale and 2XKO also contributed to the company's watch time numbers during these three months.

Which Tencent Games titles dominated Q1 2026?

Tencent Games is the undisputed number one when it comes to video game publishers by watch time. It totaled 808 million HW in Q1 2026, with the main contributors being League of Legends, PUBG Mobile and Arena of Valor. The latter two mobile offerings found plenty of audience interest on TikTok, with Call of Duty: Mobile emerging as a surprise third choice for users of the video-sharing app. What makes the Chinese firm unique is its portfolio of top games, which ensured that almost all of these offerings contributed at least 1 million watch hours to the above number in the first quarter of the year.

Q1 2026 continued to reiterate the importance and impact of legacy titles like Dota 2, League of Legends and PUBG Mobile in the livestreaming space. It also showed that the mobile gaming genre is growing at a rapid pace on TikTok, led by the platform's easy accessibility and availability in the Southeast Asian region.

Most-watched video game publishers of Q1 2026

FAQs

Which video game publishers had the most Hours Watched in Q1 2026?

The top ten video game publishers in Q1 2026, based on Hours Watched, all surpassed 200 million HW, with Tencent Games ranking first.

How did TikTok influence video game publisher viewership in Q1 2026?

TikTok's continued rise across demographics and regions was a significant factor, with games like Free Fire and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang finding their biggest audience on the platform.

What were Mojang Studios' most-watched games in Q1 2026?

Minecraft remained Mojang Studios' primary success, gaining more consistent traction on TikTok than Kick in Q1 2026, with Dungeons and VR versions also contributing.

Which Blizzard Entertainment games were most successful in Q1 2026?

World of Warcraft was Blizzard's most successful game with almost 140 million HW on Twitch, followed by Overwatch 2, which saw growth from its Season 1 update.

What is Garena's most popular game for livestreaming in Q1 2026?

Free Fire remained Garena's top title, with a majority of its Hours Watched numbers in Q1 2026 coming from TikTok.