For any streamer, be it an experienced one or someone starting fresh, balancing your content on Twitch is no easy task. After all, so many streamers out there are livestreaming for hours on end daily, so trying to stand out and make a name for yourself is a challenge.
One of the best ways to attract more viewers and slowly make your way up the reputation ladder is to post entertaining video gaming content. This segment takes up a massive portion of the purple platform's overall watch time, so investing time and energy into something with millions of potential eyeballs is a great way to increase your popularity.
However, many content creators find it hard to choose the best game that suits their personality and aptitude, leading to livestreaming sessions that may not exactly be the most captivating for audiences. Sometimes, the streamer might be playing something they are good at, but the eminence of the title among viewers might not be that high.
Hence, when an influencer decides to broadcast a video game, they must choose something that is part of the ongoing pop culture lexicon or is in vogue within the community. Of course, there are games with legacy standings, like League of Legends and Counter-Strike, that will always attract a certain number of viewers, but that will not always guarantee success for streamers, especially those at the beginning of their careers.
With that in mind, here's a crash course for newcomers and budding content creators to choose the best game to livestream and help increase their following and viewership. First, let's understand Twitch trends and how they help influencers understand what genre or game is doing well at any given point in time:
Track viewership
- Keep an eye on Twitch analytics sites like TwitchTracker and Streams Charts. These platforms show you the most-watched games, the trending games with significant viewership growth, and the top channels in each category.
Analyze growth
- Look beyond just the highest viewer counts. Games with a high percentage growth in viewership indicate increasing interest and could be good opportunities. For example, as per Streams Charts, Diablo IV and Arena Breakout: Infinite have shown substantial growth in the last month.
Consider different timeframes
- Analyze trends over different periods (e.g., daily, weekly, monthly) to identify consistently popular games versus temporary spikes.
Explore tags
- Pay attention to trending tags within the game categories you are interested in. These can reflect specific in-game events, trending challenges, or community-driven trends.
Now, let's get into the nitty-gritty of strategies that new streamers can use to choose the right games for their livestreaming sessions. The first thing to keep in mind is that broadcasting sessions of popular games will not necessarily equate to higher viewership for a creator.
That is where balancing popularity and competition is key, as a high viewer count for games will mean high competition for streamers. Titles like LoL and Grand Theft Auto V consistently have high viewership but also a large number of established streamers. As a result, it can be harder for new influencers to get noticed in these saturated categories.
Of course, there are exceptions, like during big-ticket events where the interest in these titles is higher, meaning there is a larger audience base looking for their kind of streamer and content. However, it is best to try and find games where the competition for viewers is not cutthroat, especially for someone new to the business who doesn't have a reputation to fall back on.
Newer streamers must also focus on video games with significant recent growth but not yet dominated by thousands of streamers. This can offer a better chance of being discovered, meaning they should consider games with a smaller but dedicated community. If you enjoy the game and can engage your audiences, you might build a loyal following.
It is also crucial to consider your strengths and interests, as the feeling of authenticity resonates with viewers. If you genuinely enjoy a game, your enthusiasm will likely be contagious, which in turn rubs off on your audience.
New streamers must also remember that if you are highly skilled at a particular game, you might attract viewers interested in learning or watching expert gameplay. You can also use tags like "PRO" if applicable, as it could turn up on more searches of online users and bring in more viewers to your livestreams.
Bonus point: keep track of the average viewer-to-streamer ratio for a game. A healthy ratio suggests that there are enough viewers for the number of streamers in that category.
Many times, games, especially new releases, come into the limelight thanks to their prevalence among prominent streamers. Just in 2025, titles like The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, INZOI, and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 made news thanks to the caliber of creators who were attracted to what these games had to offer and the kind of feedback they received from the community.
Engaging with the community can also play a part in finding out what games are catching the attention of casual and hardcore gamers. Once you get a feel of what could work and decide on a broadcast, using relevant tags, both popular and specific, will help viewers find your streams. You can include tags related to the game, your playstyle (e.g., "chill," "competitive"), and community aspects (e.g., "chatty," "AMA").
To help streamers get an idea of what kind of games can help them attract higher viewership, here are some games listed under two subsections:
Currently trending games (as of May 20, 2025):
Based on recent data, some games showing significant positive trends in viewership include:
- V Rising
- Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves
- Enshrouded
- Torchlight: Infinite
- Diablo IV
- God of War
- Arena Breakout: Infinite
- Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves
- Clash Royale
- Doom Eternal
Games with consistently high viewership:
While competition is higher, these games have a large audience:
- League of Legends
- Grand Theft Auto V
- Counter-Strike
- Valorant
- Call of Duty: Warzone
- Fortnite
- Minecraft
- Dota 2
You should also try and utilise Twitch features, especially making sure you are streaming in the correct game category so viewers looking for that game can find you. Using a variety of relevant tags (Twitch allows up to five) to describe your content and target specific audiences (e.g., language, region, playstyle) can also help bring in a larger audience base.
Lastly, be sure to study and keep track of which genre of games is taking up more space in the trending and headlines sections. Many times, a streamer-led event or a showcase from popular companies leads to a specific segment seeing spikes in viewership and concurrent players.
A good example is the battle royale genre, where the introduction of in-game events or patch updates can bring in more players and viewers across livestreaming services. A game like Fortnite, omnipresent on platforms like Twitch, tends to see increased streamer and audience activity during in-game concerts or the advent of a new season, as excitement is higher among fans to see what new features and additions they can access.
Eventually, choosing a game can boil down to the activity it is seeing on platforms or the way renowned streamers have reacted to it. Since the industry can be like a rollercoaster ride, there will be ups and downs, but what is key is to stick to what you feel will get you noticed and to play games that you are good at.
You can also start by streaming games you genuinely enjoy while keeping an eye on trending titles with moderate competition. It is also important to focus on building a community through engagement and consistent streaming. It is never a bad thing to experiment with different games and analyze your viewership data to see what resonates best with your audience.
To conclude, newcomers and veterans alike can use various tools and features at their disposal to decide which title has the most potential to attract higher viewership. Collaborations and cameos can also give an idea of what works best for you, but make sure that whatever you play, your personality and talents shine through to viewers because that is what builds trust, engagement, and long-term connections.