Streaming has risen its popularity with its massive growth from 2019. From different live streaming platforms to beneficial partnerships for streamers, online streaming is here to stay.
The good news is that streaming games have been warmly welcomed and could be the future of the video game industry.
To take advantage of such a market, we’ve compiled the best games to stream and start gaining an audience.
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Twitch Live Top Watched Games
League of Legends
Key Features:
- Peak Viewers: 1,743,521
- Average seven-day viewers: 200,682
- Mode: Multiplayer
- Genre: Multiplayer online battle arena
- Platform: Microsoft Windows, macOS
- Website: https://lol.garena.ph/
Its a team-oriented strategy game where you and your team need to bring down the enemies Nexus before they bring down yours. Sounds familiar? It should be since these are from the makers of DoTA.
You’re going to be taking over your enemies turf while strategically trying to destroy as many towers and, of course, defeating the enemy. While LoL still doesn’t have a voice chat, the developers seemed to focus on graphics and balance.
Pros
- Short cooldowns and low magic costs allowing you to cast spells often.
- Great gameplay when you match with good teammates.
Cons
- You have to grind to rank high. Not all of the heroes’ skins are free, you have to buy each. One. Of. Them.
- Lots of trolls and the community can be quite toxic
Valorant
Key Features:
- Peak Viewers: 1,726,074
- Average seven-day viewers: 72,650
- Mode: Multiplayer
- Genre: First-person Shooter
- Platform: Microsoft Windows
- Website: https://playvalorant.com/en-us/
It’s a tactical five versus five character-based first-person shooter. It’s basically like they took counter-strike and then added abilities from other games such as Overwatch and Rainbow Six Siege. In terms of gameplay, there’s a significant similarity with counter-strike; however, what makes it unique are these “agents” characters that have magical abilities.
So you get to play roles that have different skills ranging from a medic, teleportation, fire bending, and even poison bending (okay that was totally mine).
The primary feature would still be the gunplay. It’s a solid tactical shooting with active playtime. The game’s additional abilities are not constant like Overwatch but only a supplementary. So you still get to show your precision aiming strategy skills.
Pros
- Still in beta mode, you can try playing it for free.
Cons
- Characters have a lot of voice lines that aren’t needed in a competitive game
Fortnite
Key Features:
- Peak Viewers: 2,277,171
- Average seven-day viewers: 153,301
- Mode: PvP
- Genre: Survival, battle royale, sandbox
- Platform: Windows, macOS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, iOS, Android
- Website: https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/en-US/home
So at a story level, you must gather resources and build forts with other players. While it is a third-person shooter game, it’s building feature is what makes it unique. The first mode was a post-zombie apocalypse that lets you play with other players.
With the new mode released, it allows you to join a group or play solo face-off. What makes it more interesting is how you cannot bring any items when your character dies.
Pros
- The game is updated weekly
- There’s a variety of guns to use
Cons
- Every update has a bug glitch, which causes maintenance downtime.
- Too many spam guns
Grand Theft Auto V
Key Features:
- Peak Viewers: 389,213
- Average seven-day viewers: 136,149
- Mode: Single-player, multiplayer
- Genre: Action-adventure
- Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows
- Website: https://www.rockstargames.com/V/
Its a masterfully well-crafted open-world game with its storyline that still connects to the story you create in its world. It lets you explore a world that gripping, thrilling, and dark in comic. What makes it a significant upgrade from GTA 4 are its enhanced features such as a less touchy aim, a reliable cover system, and better auto handle. It’s a well-written interplay between the character that makes it a good laugh for both players and the audience.
Pros
- Realistic open-world with lots of graphics and controls options
- Characters have a great personality, and the story has good writing
Cons
- Melee combat has gotten worse in my opinion
- Cops randomly see through walls but not consistently
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
Key Features:
- Peak Viewers: 521,404
- Average seven-day viewers: 119,535
- Mode: Single-player, multiplayer
- Genre: First-person shooter
- Platform: Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
- Website: https://www.callofduty.com/modernwarfare
Compared to their previous game, Modern Warfare allows you to play a complete single-player game. We know their campaigns are concise, but this felt criminally short. The game is slow-paced, and there’s a lot of mess-ups with many enemies popping out.
The game provides many tools that allow you to cause destruction and more on verging for the shock value. This isn’t a bad thing since the edginess made for some tense moments- I won’t spoil here, but it will help make your viewers entranced and stay on your stream.
Pros
- Allows single player mode
- The campaigns are incredible with 100+ frames
Cons
- Guns are limited
- No incentive to finish any objective
Best Games To Stream – Honorable Mentions
- Dota 2
- Minecraft
- FIFA20
- Grand Theft Auto V
- Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
- Dota 2
Before you jump in and start playing one of the games listed above, you should learn what type of streamers appeal to audiences. They’re categorically separated into two groups. The one-game players and the multi-game streamers – which we will delve into further below.
One-Game Streamers
Sticking to one game is a sure way to establish your channel and create a steady following. With a continuous play, you can progress into a professional player, and as time goes by, you can even coach other players or even live stream as a commentator.
Pros
- You can quickly build an audience since the viewers know what to expect.
- It takes little time to grow a steady following
- You can progress with this type of streaming
Cons
- Boredom. Due to the focus on one game, everything gets repetitive.
- Dependent on the game. One-game streaming runs the risk of losing viewership with different trends in the industry.
- Fierce Competition. Focusing on one game means sticking to popular gems that result in fewer opportunities to get exposure.
Multi-Game
If you don’t want to confine yourself to one game or want to explore new and upcoming games, then you can consider this path. It can sound tempting, but it’s a tough challenge to create a following when you’re continually switching games.
By choosing this path, you can focus on being open to game requests and being quick learners. This means offering unique content is your main priority.
Pros
- Your stream will never be stale as you get to learn and try more games.
- You can reach new audiences with every game you play
- A more extensive range of games to choose from
Cons
- It takes longer to grow your audience
- The competition is still fierce, with Twitch getting bigger every day.
- You can lose your viewers
Provide Exceptional Content
When it comes to playing games, whether you’ve decided to go on the one-gamer or multi-game path, your primary focus should be on providing quality content. You need to let your personality shine. Otherwise, you’ll have a hard time growing your audience. It can be tempting to follow what’s trending and go with the flow, but it’s most important to play a game you enjoy. Your viewers will always notice if you feel like you’re pushing yourself, and if you’re not having fun, it can also affect them.
If you’ve taken into consideration everything above, set up your gaming desk, and start streaming. Nothing beats the rush of playing a game and learning its gameplay.
