In May, Twitch saw a modest rebound in overall viewership despite a slight decline in streamer activity. The month also stood out with unprecedented content variety; the platform hit a new milestone for the number of categories hosting broadcasts.
Following a seasonal dip in April, Twitch bounced back in May with a 2% increase in total watch time and upward momentum across several key metrics. Peak viewership climbed by 9%, and most notably, creators streamed in 46,371 different categories and games, setting a new all-time record for content diversity on the platform.
Streamer activity dipped slightly in May compared to April. The average number of concurrent live channels was down by 2%, with the peak count of simultaneously streaming channels falling by 5%. The total number of active creators also declined, though only marginally and within the bounds of statistical noise.
While Twitch hit a record high for the number of livestreamed categories, its top 10 most-watched categories remained largely unchanged. Dota 2 saw a modest boost, thanks in part to DreamLeague Season 26, one of the few major esports events during an otherwise quiet final week of May for other titles.
The only new entry in the top 10 was the IRL category, which spiked in popularity at the end of May. The surge was driven largely by TwitchCon Rotterdam, as hundreds of creators streamed directly from the event. We’ll dive deeper into its viewership impact in an upcoming article.
Zack “Asmongold” Hoyt was the most-watched creator on the platform in May, streaming primarily on his secondary channel, zackrawrr. It was the only channel to surpass 10 million Hours Watched during the month. At the end of May, Asmongold joined Kick, where he now simulcasts alongside his regular Twitch streams.
When it comes to viewership per hour streamed, Kai Cenat was by far the most efficient creator in May. He ranked third overall despite going live for just 43 hours, while most other top streamers were on air for more than 200. His new show, Streamer University, quickly gained traction and came close to breaking into the platform’s top 10 categories. One of the show’s standout features was its massive co-streaming footprint, with nearly 10,000 channels participating in its broadcast coverage.
One standout newcomer in May was Darryl “DDG” Granberry Jr., who saw a major surge in popularity after participating in Streamer University. The event gave his channel a significant boost: not only did he draw impressive viewership numbers, but he also gained over 650,000 new followers, the largest follower increase of any channel on Twitch that month.
When it came to viral impact, Kai Cenat stood in a league of his own. The premiere episode of Streamer University drew more than 638,000 concurrent viewers on his channel, marking the second-highest peak of his streaming career. Only his co-stream with Drew “Druski” Desbordes and Kevin Hart attracted more.
After Alondra "Alondrissa" Michelle left for Kick, Emily "Emiru" Schunk remains the undisputed leader among female Twitch streamers in terms of average viewership. With nearly 20,000 concurrent viewers, she received more than double the average viewership of her closest competitors.
The other women in the top 10 posted fairly similar average viewership numbers, ranging between 6,000 and 8,000 Average Viewers. In addition to regular streamers, the top 10 also included three VTubers, with four VTubers in total making it into the top 20. Interestingly, while the VTuber scene is largely dominated by Japanese creators, Twitch’s most popular VTubers are all from other countries.
