Twitch has revealed its 2026 State of Gaming report, offering a snapshot of the games, streamers and communities that have dominated the platform so far this year.
From January 1 to September 1, 2026, viewers watched more than 8.6 billion hours of gaming content on Twitch – equivalent to roughly one hour for every person on Earth.
The figures highlight the continued scale of live gaming, with audiences gathering around everything from competitive esports and massive multiplayer titles to horror games, indie releases, sandbox experiences and community-led events.
According to Twitch, the report demonstrates the role the platform continues to play as a meeting point for streamers, viewers, developers and publishers.
The Most-Watched Games on Twitch in 2026!
The five most-watched games on Twitch generated almost 1.7 billion hours watched between January and September.
The biggest games and their leading streamers were:
- League of Legends: Caedrel, otplol_ and Noway4u_sir
- Counter-Strike: Strogo, Eslcs and Ohnepixel
- GTA V: JLtomy, Fps_shaka and Penta
- VALORANT: Gofns, Mixwell and Lazvell
- World of Warcraft: Echo_esports, Maximum and Metashi12
The figures show the continued strength of established competitive games, while other genres have also built sizeable audiences throughout 2026.
Horror Games Keep Twitch Viewers on the Edge of Their Seats!
Horror was one of the standout genres in this year’s report.
Games including Dead by Daylight, Phasmophobia and Silent Hill f collectively generated 287 million hours watched, as viewers tuned in for scares, reactions and increasingly unpredictable gameplay.
The dedicated Horror Twitch tag also recorded 93 million hours watched, representing a 6% increase compared with the same period in 2025.
For streamers, horror remains particularly suited to live content, with audience reactions becoming part of the entertainment.
Creature-Filled Games Build Big Communities!
It isn’t all scares on Twitch.
Games featuring creatures, companions and collecting mechanics also attracted significant audiences during 2026. Titles including Pokopia, Slime Rancher and Temtem collectively reached 142 million hours watched.
The figures underline how Twitch communities can develop around games that offer exploration, customisation and opportunities for creators to put their own spin on gameplay.
Sandbox Games Continue to Dominate!
Sandbox games remain another major part of Twitch’s gaming ecosystem.
Minecraft, Tomodachi Life and other sandbox titles collectively delivered 831 million hours watched during the reporting period.
Twitch says the genre’s total viewing time was equivalent to 16 times longer than all of recorded human history, highlighting just how much time audiences spent watching creators build, explore and experiment.
Minecraft in particular continues to be a major force on the platform, with creators finding new ways to turn the game’s open-ended mechanics into live entertainment.
Indie Games See Major Growth!
Independent games also saw significant momentum in 2026.
Hours watched for channels tagged with indie game content increased by 51%, with titles including Meccha Chameleon, Slay the Spire 2 and Big Walk among the games helping drive more than 348 million hours watched.
The growth demonstrates the ability of Twitch communities to bring attention to games outside the biggest AAA franchises.
North American Creators Make Their Mark!
North American creators were also among the year’s standout gaming personalities.
Jynxzi generated 78 million hours watched across Rocket League, Rainbow Six Siege and League of Legends.
Meanwhile, TheBurntPeanut passed 70 million hours watched, with streams of ARC Raiders, Rust and Escape from Tarkov contributing to the total.
HappyHappyGal was also among the three most-watched Fortnite streamers globally.
Elsewhere, RealKatieB nearly doubled her subscriber count, while her followers increased by 92% during the period covered by the report.
The Most-Watched Games Around the World!
The games attracting the biggest audiences varied from region to region.
United States
- League of Legends
- Fortnite
- GTA V
United Kingdom
- League of Legends
- Fortnite
- Minecraft
Spain
- League of Legends
- VALORANT
- Fortnite
France
- League of Legends
- GTA V
- VALORANT
DACH
- World of Warcraft
- League of Legends
- GTA V
BLX
- League of Legends
- Counter-Strike
- GTA V
Mexico
- League of Legends
- QSMP
- Fortnite
Brazil
- League of Legends
- VALORANT
- Tibia
Japan
- GTA V
- League of Legends
- VALORANT
Taiwan & Hong Kong
- League of Legends
- VALORANT
- Apex Legends
Australia & New Zealand
- League of Legends
- Fortnite
- Overwatch
The results show how established competitive titles continue to perform strongly across multiple markets, while regional communities also develop their own distinct favourites.
Global Creators Are Turning Streams Into Live Experiences!
Twitch’s report also highlights creators who have gone beyond traditional gameplay streams to create their own experiences for viewers.
In Brazil, creator cellbit hosted an escape-room livestream inside an old VHS store.
In Mexico, aldo_geo created his own Minecraft event, Geoware World, in August. Mexican Call of Duty creator Deusamir also finished seventh at the Esports World Cup with his team Leviathan.
In Taiwan, creator Tsukilin recently broke the Twitch Subathon record, finishing the event ranked fifth globally and first in APAC.
Germany’s Noway4u_Sir was the third most-watched League of Legends streamer on Twitch, while BastiGHG became the platform’s most-watched Minecraft streamer globally.
Neuro-sama Breaks Another Twitch Hype Record!
The UK also featured prominently in Twitch’s 2026 report.
Creator Vedal987 and his AI avatar Neuro-sama broke the Twitch Hype record for the third consecutive time, reaching level 123 for the first time in 2026.
The achievement reflects the growing variety of livestreaming formats on Twitch, where audiences increasingly gather around personalities, virtual characters and community events as much as individual games.
In France, creator Kamet0 accumulated 13 million hours watched across League of Legends and VALORANT in 2026 so far.
Meanwhile, Spanish creator Rubius passed 21 million hours watched, with Minecraft, TCG Card Shop Simulator and Marvel Rivals among his most-played categories.
In the Middle East, creator sultan_feasts has also been building an audience through cooking streams inspired by games including World of Warcraft and The Witcher.
Twitch Drops Turn Viewers Into Participants
Twitch Drops also played a major role in gaming engagement during 2026.
Streams using the DropsEnabled tag generated 1.6 billion hours watched, representing a 46% increase compared with the same period last year.
Twitch hosted more than 7,500 Drops campaigns, up 20%, while participation across channels increased by 40%.
The number of users participating in and claiming Drops also increased by 15%, reaching 40 million users.
The figures demonstrate how game-related rewards can encourage viewers to remain involved with livestreams rather than simply watching passively.
Twitch Gaming Continues to Expand!
Commenting on the findings, Twitch Chief Product Officer Mike Minton said the platform’s gaming community continues to bring people together around shared interests.
“Since our earliest days, Twitch has always been a place for people to come together around their shared love of gaming,” Minton said.
He pointed to the 8.6 billion hours of gaming content watched during the first eight months of the year, as well as the response from the GTA VI community, as examples of the scale of gaming on Twitch.
With audiences moving between competitive esports, horror, sandbox games, indie titles and creator-led experiences, the 2026 figures suggest that there is increasingly no single way to experience gaming on Twitch.
All figures cover January 1 to September 1, 2026, unless otherwise stated, and are based on Twitch’s internal global data. Hours watched are rounded, while growth percentages compare the period with January 1 to September 1, 2025.
Read the full Twitch State of Gaming 2026 report for more information.
