You probably don't know it, but as you read these lines there are at least 1 million people connected on Twitch (not to be confused with the Switch, Nintendo's console!). What are they doing? They are watching other people play video games.
I bake a cake, I wash my dog, I pick my clothes... Originally, Twitch was called Justin.tv; its users broadcast moments of their lives live. Homemade reality TV.
But its creator quickly realized that what people enjoyed most was watching others play video games. Launched in 2011, acquired by Amazon in 2014, Twitch is The reference for the genre. Its earnings are crazy. Last year, Twitch captured more than half of the global revenues generated by video game content, all while drawing half the audience of YouTube (according to a study by the analytics firm SuperData). Approximately $1.7 Billion.
Exciting content. This may surprise some, but for many people on Earth (except the Chinese, Twitch has been blocked there for 3 months!), it's as thrilling to watch some gamers play live as to attend a Champions League or Davis Cup match.
The viewer also sees and hears the player, who films themselves live.
Whatever the field, it's great to watch the best in action, says Emmett Shear, the founder of Twitch.
Many spectators comment on the game live, with plenty of emojis and abbreviations. And some subscribe to their favorite players' channels, or donate money.
Access to all videos is free but Twitch earns revenue from advertising, from cheers and from subscriptions, which start at 5 euros per month and grant privileges - different emoticons, for example.
And then you need to know the vocabulary!
For the basics, know that a broadcaster on Twitch is a streamer; a commentator, a caster; and that videos are categorized by category. There are Let's Plays or LP (which involve discovering a game by playing it casually), Longplays (the same, but aiming to finish the game), Walkthroughs (tutorials to help the viewer finish a game in turn), Speedruns (speed-competitions to finish a quest as fast as possible), or Glitch Hunting (searching for unplanned glitches in the game, very useful for developers).
In reality it's very difficult. And almost impossible to make a living. Like YouTube, the number of chosen ones is small!
Streamers (broadcasters) must accumulate hundreds of hours of streaming and a large number of fans to earn money. They often have little time to work elsewhere or continue their studies. You have to be very popular to become an affiliate and to accumulate a few thousand euros, then, for the best of them, sign a partner contract. These statuses let them generate income proportional to their popularity.
Some manage to live off it. In France, mistermv and his hipster beard (233,000 fans) or Trinity, one of the best-known female gamers (91,000), hold the top of the scene.
Internationally, Tyler Blevins, aka Ninja (12 million), Fortnite specialist, breaks all records. He is the absolute star. With manga-like charisma, a professional stage bearing his likeness, and beverages recognizable in the background, the player with silvery-blue hair revealed he earns about 1 million dollars per month in ESPN's sports media magazine, which put him on the cover in September.
A true esports star among sports stars.
A crowning achievement.
So if you complain because your kids lose an hour watching someone play a video game, think that you wouldn't act the same if they were watching a football match. Yet for him it's the same thing.