In December 2023, Twitch broadcasts generated over 1.79 billion Hours Watched, marking the platform's second-highest result for the past year, just slightly behind March's numbers. Nevertheless, December emerged as the leader in peak online viewership and the number of active channels on the platform. This success was largely attributed to festive Christmas broadcasts and in-game events such as The Big Bang in Fortnite.
Most watched Twitch games and categories in December 2023
In December 2023, the most popular category on Twitch became Just Chatting — accumulating 263.9 million Hours Watched for the month, approximately 12% more than in November. Among the most active streamers in this category were Kai Cenat, HasanAbi, JonVlogs, IlloJuan, and others.
Securing the second spot in the rankings was Grand Theft Auto V. Compared to November, the game increased its viewership from 100 million to 160 million Hours Watched, elevating it from fourth to second place. This substantial surge was due to the launch of the new VCR GTA gaming RP server, attracting the attention of numerous top streamers and YouTubers from Japan. For instance, fps_shaka alone generated over 10 million Hours Watched by hosting a 10-day marathon of VCR GTA gameplay.
Read also: Top GTA streamers of 2023
The Fortnite Battle Royale maintained its position in the top three on Twitch, although in December, its section garnered 7% fewer viewing hours compared to November. However, the title emerged as the leader in peak viewership on the platform — just over 3 million Peak Viewers watched streams from the in-game event, The Big Bang, held early in December. Thanks to this event, Fortnite claimed the top spot in terms of channels at its peak — hosting over 146.9K simultaneous broadcasts. More details about The Big Bang Event in Fortnite can be found here.
The fourth position in the category rankings was claimed by League of Legends — last month, streams of the game generated 93.2 million Hours Watched, approximately 26 million less than in November. The reason for this decline is easily explained: November hosted the 2023 World Championship, which attracted a large number of Twitch viewers. In December, the League of Legends tournament season took a break, resulting in fewer esports broadcasts and subsequently a decrease in audience engagement for the game category.
World of Warcraft secured the fifth spot in the rankings with 48.6 million Hours Watched. It's worth noting that in November, this MMORPG held a similar position, but at that time, it amassed almost 80 million Hours Watched. Essentially, the game returned to its more typical figures after the significant surge in November, when broadcasts of the Race to World First event were popular in its section.
Read also: Race to World First Amirdrassil drove World of Warcraft to a new peak viewership for 2023
The team-based shooter Valorant held onto the sixth position, gathering 47.9 million Hours Watched in December — approximately 24% less than in November. There are several reasons for this decline, ranging from shifts in viewer interests to a lull in the game's professional scene.
Call of Duty: Warzone accumulated 38.9 million Hours Watched in December 2023, securing the seventh spot in the category rankings. For comparison, in November of the previous year, the shooter held only the 28th position. Such significant progress was due to drop rewards — viewers watching Warzone streams in December had the opportunity to obtain exclusive weapon blueprints, charms, and other cosmetic items.
By the end of December, Minecraft descended from seventh to eighth place in the rankings, amassing around 36.9 million Hours Watched for the month. The world's most popular sandbox game was significantly impacted by the release of the LEGO Fortnite expansion, which bears a striking resemblance to Minecraft.
Read also: Fortnite helped YouTube Gaming set new viewership & streamer activity records
Counter-Strike secured the ninth position with 36.6 million Hours Watched — slightly lower than its November figures, but the difference isn't considered critical. This fluctuation is quite common for this discipline toward the end of the year.
Closing out the top 10 in the rankings is Dota 2, which generated 34.9 million Hours Watched in December. The game managed to slightly improve its previous result thanks to the broadcasts from ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023.
Most watched Twitch channels in December 2023
Most popular channels on Twitch - December 2023
In December 2023, Japanese streamer fps_shaka became the most-watched streamer. Throughout the month, his channel accumulated nearly 12.8 million Hours Watched, primarily due to GTA V broadcasts. As a reminder, a new RP server called VCR GTA was launched on December 10-20, attracting the attention of many top streamers. The server gained significant popularity in Japan, with even renowned YouTubers streaming from it.
Taking the second spot was the Spanish streamer IlloJuan, who trailed the leader by about half in terms of viewing hours. In December, he mostly streamed in categories such as Just Chatting and Pokémon Community Game. Additionally, IlloJuan played games like DayZ, Fortnite, and Silent Hill.
Read also: Pokémon TwitchCup 3 became a hit thanks to the collaboration of Spanish Twitch
Outrageous streamer Kai Cenat secured the third position with a total of 6.6 million Hours Watched. In December, the American stood out notably for a joint stream with singer Nicki Minaj. This stream drew over 348.5K Peak Viewers, setting a new record for Kai Cenat's channel.
Japanese streamer kato_junichi0817 surprisingly climbed to the fourth position with 5.9 million Hours Watched. Last month, he predominantly streamed Valorant, Lost Judgment, and DRAGON QUEST MONSTERS: The Dark Prince.
Closing out the top five is Zackrawrr (Asmongold's second account), whose channel amassed 5.8 million Hours Watched in December. Primarily streaming in categories like Just Chatting, World of Warcraft, and Monster Hunter: World.
Brazilian streamer Gaules landed in the sixth position with 5.8 million Hours Watched. As usual, throughout December, he conducted near-continuous streams of Counter-Strike, occasionally taking breaks for titles like Night of the Dead, Golf With Your Friends, or Fortnite.
The seventh spot went to the RTAinJapan channel, featuring streams of the annual speedrunning championship of the same name. The Japanese equivalent of Games Done Quick generated 5.6 million Hours Watched and gathered 88.4K Peak Viewers.
In December, American streamer Jynxzi accumulated 5.5 million Hours Watched. Throughout the month, he actively streamed Rainbow Six Siege, reaching his largest audience at the beginning of the month coinciding with the release of a new map and the start of a new season in the game.
Once the most popular Twitch streamer, Canadian xQc ended the year with 5.2 million Hours Watched. In December, he heavily engaged in RP servers in GTA V and entertained viewers in the Just Chatting section, securing the ninth spot in the monthly rankings. Closing the top ten is the Japanese streamer raderaderader, who amassed just over 5 million Hours Watched in December, primarily from streams on the RP server VCR GTA.
Most watched Twitch streamers in December 2023
Most watched Twitch streamers in December 2023
When considering only the top streamers (excluding channels of organizations or tournament operators), the Spanish streamer ibai makes it into the top 10. Interestingly, he trailed the Japanese streamer raderaderader by just 0.5%.
Towards the end of the year, ibai hosted several streams covering entertainment and sports events like El Último En Pie, IBAINÉFICO 2023, Corona de Oro 2023, CAMPANADAS 2023, among others.
Most watched female Twitch streamers in December 2023
Most watched female Twitch streamers in December 2023
Among female streamers, the most popular in December 2023 was the Japanese VTuber Akamikarubi. Her channel garnered 2.6 million Hours Watched for the month — all thanks to streams from the RP server VCR GTA.
The second spot in the ranking, with 1.8 million Hours Watched, belonged to the channel vedal987, where an English-speaking AI VTuber named Neuro-sama conducts streams. In December, she celebrated her "birthday" and hosted a subathon in its honor (which is still ongoing).
Read also: VTubing in 2023 — top VTubers of the year and an overview of the community
The third position in the rankings belonged to the American streamer Asianbunnyx — she generated over 1.4 million Hours Watched for the month. She primarily conducted streams in the Just Chatting and Pools, Hot Tubs, and Beaches categories, and her ascent to the top was aided by explicit (18+) broadcasts during a brief period when Twitch relaxed its policies on erotic content on the platform.
Korean streamer saddummy claimed the fourth spot with 1.4 million Hours Watched. Last month, she spent most of her time playing Minecraft.
Emiru, who was the leader in November, descended to the fifth spot in the women's ranking. Last month, she amassed almost 1.4 million Hours Watched, thanks to streams of World of Warcraft and Elden Ring.
In the latter half of the women's ranking were Mira, ironmouse, Jinnytty, Camila, and Tororo_vtuber. Meanwhile, rivers_gg unexpectedly found herself outside the top 10 (possibly due to less airtime in December compared to November). It's worth noting the prevalence of VTubers in the women's top, which has become increasingly mainstream on Twitch.
