When video games launched back in the 1970s, they were taken up by a niche group who we all came to know these people as gamers. But with 17 million Australians now playing video games, the term gamer is no longer necessary as Generation Twitch has taken up gaming in such a big way it’s now a mainstream hobby.

We talked with Fiamma – a keen Twitch streamer – and Lewis Mitchell APAC Content Director at Twitch, asking them to tell us more about what this platform has to offer.

But firstly, here’s a bit of background as to how a platform like Twitch came to be. Gaming used to be a solo hobby but with tech developments, it’s evolved to an interactive and community driven hobby that people enjoy together. The tech developments from the past decade mean people can now game on just about any device – they don’t need a specific gaming console.

Advancements in gameplay opened up a whole lot of new types of games which cater to different audiences. Women weren’t known as big gamers in the past but over the past few years, a lot more women have jumped into gaming and now just under half of Australia’s gaming audience identifies as women.

With all of this interest and improvements, the gaming industry is booming with the Australian gaming sector projected to achieve just under $6 billion AUD in revenue this year.

At the forefront of this shift in gaming is an audience known as Generation Twitch – comprised of younger Millennials and Gen Z and Gen Alpha.

Here’s Fiamma – a keen gamer who uses Twitch – to tell us more...

Hello Fiamma – can you tell us how long you’ve been streaming on Twitch and what type of content you like to stream on Twitch? 

Fiamma: Hi there, I’m Fia! I’m a Melbourne-born, Brisbane-based streamer. I’ve been going live for just over seven years now, and I stream completionist/collectible gaming content with a heavy dose of engagement and chit-chat. My community often jokes that I’m a Just Chatting streamer with a side of gameplay!

How often do you go to Twitch and spend time there?

Fiamma: I’m on Twitch almost every day. When I’m not streaming myself, I’m lurking in other people’s channels, it always amazes me how vastly different communities hosted on the same site can be! If I want amped up hype content to get excited about, or chill quiet times while I work away, or in depth discussions about every topic under the sun, it’s all just a couple of clicks away.

What do you mostly do on Twitch – game, watch TV, talk with people, listen to music etc?

Fiamma: Gaming and talking with people, definitely. Chatting while gaming is a core part of my Twitch experience, I feel like it’s what sets Twitch apart from other content. My content, and what I seek when I explore other channels, is all about the engagement. I can watch a person game and achieve their goals, but I can ask them questions about their experience, discuss tips and tricks, or just keep them company while they go about it in real time. I love the connection.

How important is it to you that you can go to a place like Twitch and interact with others?

Fiamma: Extremely important, especially over the past years with COVID. I’m an immunocompromised person, so almost 100% of my personal interactions were online through platforms like Twitch. Although we’re seeing the return of in-person events now, I feel like in Australia we don’t have as many opportunities to connect over gaming specifically, it’s still not quite seen as an acceptable adult hobby, so having a global platform we can use to find and connect with others is something special.

What do you like most about Twitch?

Fiamma: I love the diversity of people I can “meet”. I can click into a channel because they’re playing a game I love and connect with a person who has an entirely different experience of the world compared to mine. Later on I can go back to that person and find them playing a game I’ve never heard of that could become my new favourite, or meet another person who recommends a new snack or drink that I dive through Amazon trying to find. It’s this constant stream of new, unexpected and random connections that leads to broadening my world view, or diversifying my pantry.

Would you call yourself a ‘Gamer’ now or not?

Fiamma: Absolutely. It used to be something I didn’t really share, when I was younger and asked about hobbies I’d be vague, or list the ones I thought were more “socially acceptable”. Now, gaming is a huge part of who I am, it’s how I met most of my IRL friends, how I spend most of the free time I have, and it’s one of my jobs! I’m so grateful that I had access to tech at a very young age, it’s shaped so much of my adult life that I’m happy to call myself a gamer.

How long have you been gaming – or at places like Twitch? And how long do you think you’ll continue this?

Fiamma: I’ve been gaming since I was two – my dad built me a PC from parts from his job; we have a VHS tape somewhere of me teaching my mum how to colour in dinosaurs with a bucket-fill tool in an early MS-DOS game.

I’m 33 now, and I still love a good point-and-click even if the goals are a little more complex now! I spent a little bit of time at LANs in my late teens, then more time on forums for different games or guild groups, and now I’ve hit my 7th Twitch-iversary in February.

I’ll keep going for as long as they let me; for the first time in my life I feel like I’m in the right place, doing the right stuff, surrounded by the right people. I’m incredibly close to earning a full time income from streaming now, give me just a little longer and it’ll be my only job.

Thanks Fiamma for chatting with us. Now, we’re talking with Lewis Mitchell, APAC Content Director at Twitch, and we asked him to tell us more about Twitch and why it’s so popular right now?

Michael: Twitch is an interactive livestreaming service where communities form around shared passions. With content that spans gaming, sports, entertainment, music and more, Twitch combines authentic livestreaming content and real-time interactions with a powerful and diverse community.

Twitch welcomes 31 million daily visitors on average, and the beauty of Twitch and the livestreaming community is that there’s always something for anyone with a passion. People come to Twitch for the live and interactive content, but they stay for the community.

It seems that people aren’t just ‘gamers’ any more – they’re coming together to chat, interact, watch shows – and play games – on platforms such as Twitch. When did Twitch realise this was happening and set up a platform for it?

Michael: While Twitch started out as a service that only catered to gamers and gaming content, it was the Twitch community who helped shape Twitch into what it is today: the future of entertainment encompassing a variety of genres where anyone can play a role in creating the moment. 

What makes Twitch so appealing to its users is how it creates an environment that mimics real-life gatherings, offering unique interactive experiences. Features like our Twitch Chat and emotes allow for viewers to engage with their favourite streamers. 

The cultural conversation on gamers and gaming has evolved over the last few years where it is now considered a mainstream hobby. We no longer see gamers as a niche group of our society —now, everybody plays games. In fact, 17 million Aussies play video games, meaning a majority of the population are ‘gamers.’ We’re at a point where the term ‘gamer’ is becoming redundant. Gaming is now in the mainstream – and there are so many ways to interact with it, whether that be through watching streams, chatting to communities about gameplay or just simply playing video games.

Why is it important there are services like Twitch?

Michael: People are quick to view gaming as a solitary activity, but this is most definitely not the case. Gaming brings people together, and services like Twitch provide a space for people to do so. Gaming has always been community-driven — from the times when teenagers watched over pinball machines at the arcade or passed a single controller around the room, to now where streamers ask their audience to input on their next move. 

As a service, Twitch allows for people to connect while gaming, providing a unique gaming experience to its streamers and viewers alike. The magic of Twitch lies in its tight-knit communities, bringing together like-minded people across a plethora of interests. This has also resulted in the growth of non-gaming content which has quadrupled over the last three years on Twitch across a variety of genres including Just Chatting, Music, Sport and Cooking.

Twitch has been operating for over 10 years and to date, we have attracted and retained a massive, passionate audience that is highly engaged with the unique service that Twitch offers, and we’re confident in our company, our community, and its future. 

One of our core strengths is our technology, and we’ve built a number of tools and features to ensure Twitch is the best place to create and build a community. Our two main differentiators are our community and monetisation tools.  For example, Twitch Studio is a free streaming software designed to make it easy for new streamers to get started. No other service has the infrastructure and tools that Twitch does for artists to feed real-time interaction with fans and help monetise at the same time. Once the artists achieve affiliate status, they can unlock paid subscriptions, Bits to allow fans to cheer on artists, and ads where we share the revenue—all of which are linked with rewarding and interacting with their fans. When they are ready to level up, they can also apply to become Partner, where they receive additional support. 

Our ambition is to make Twitch the best place for streamers to build their careers and for communities to find the content they love.

Do you know what percentage of people using Twitch are male – and what percentage are female?

Michael: While we do not have specific data on this, I can say that we’re excited to see more women joining Twitch and we’re proud that one of the world’s biggest streamers Loserfruit (Kathleen Belsten) is the number one female streamer in ANZ and one of the most-watched female gamers in the world. 

Twitch is a big advocate for diversity and inclusion across the service, and we often celebrate these communities with our streamers. For example, as part of International Women’s Day, we showcased women streamers who are making waves in their communities as part of #WomenOfTwitchANZ. This saw us collaborate with the likes of EmilleJ, splucy, JeanFaymas, LiddlesTV, fiamma and many more.

We also recently launched another campaign with some of the best transgender streamers for Transgender Day of Visibility. This saw streamers like JordanRasko, CassieKillsIt, tinyandtrash and RantingTrans all create engaging content and be featured on our homepage. Similarly, we’ve also championed  our Indigenous Australian creators; last year we hosted a NAIDOC celebration throughout the month of July, featuring streamers like the very talented lifeofrubii. 

It’s easy to believe the stereotype that gaming is predominantly made up of men. It couldn’t be further from the truth. Gaming amongst women is at an all-time high in Australia with women making up almost 50% of the Aussie gaming population. Across Twitch, we’ve seen an increase in cosy games which are often powered by female audiences. These games include the likes of Stardew Valley, Animal Crossing, Disney Dreamlight Valley and New Pokemon Snap and focus on wholesome, feel-good entertainment. Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing alone are followed by a whopping 1.4M and 2.8M people respectively on Twitch.

What are the most popular activities on Twitch?

Michael: Gaming is at the core of what we do and will always be a focus, but we’re not a game-only company. Twitch has grown to become a highly-engaged global community of millions who come together to experience the next generation of live and interactive entertainment.

Our most popular non-gaming channel, Just Chatting, has over 20M followers and is exactly what it sounds like: people just hanging out and talking. We’ve seen a large appeal in people wanting to connect with their favourite streamers through an intimate setting. People can be seen building communities over their shared interests whether it’s politics, pop culture, books, anything! Similarly, music and sports have been taking off; live concerts and tournaments have been incredibly popular and we don’t anticipate these to go away any time soon. 

The Music category on Twitch has seen tremendous growth over recent years, with hours watched increasing by 45% in 2021 as more musicians bring their talents to streaming. The success of music streaming is no surprise, with Australians aged 16 – 64 spending nearly one and a half hours listening to music streaming services each day. Twitch has even allowed some musicians to make a career out of their music on Twitch. /Hayzee is an Australian musician who changed career trajectories from being a designer to a full-time streamer, performing a variety of chill, indie-folk music to her community. Before streaming on Twitch, she had never even performed before!

Athletes, as well as sports leagues, are also using Twitch as a way to connect with fans and explore a more interactive viewing experience. Hours watched of sports content increased 28% YoY, and is impressive given sports viewership increased 5x in 2021.

We’ve also seen the rise of Vtubers since 2020, which has led to a thriving, dynamic community of creators on Twitch. The genre originated in Japan and we’ve seen it gain popularity in Western communities. VTubing content on Twitch grew 467% in 2021 compared with a year earlier, which is just amazing! As the Vtuber trend grows, we’re excited to see Twitch Vtubers gain traction as full-time streamers such as ash, who is the biggest VTuber in Australia, Laynalazar, a popular Vtuber who does horror content from New Zealand, and 2wintails, a creator who does some beautiful art on stream. 

From music, sports, cooking, arts, cosplay and other variety content, our creators are driving the future of live entertainment across APAC and globally.

What do you see as being the future of Twitch?

Michael: Entertainment consumption is changing, and we’re excited to continue driving that transformation. Our community has shown us that they enjoy participating and engaging in their entertainment, and feeling connected in online communities is more important now than ever.

Livestreaming is particularly popular among Gen Z, Gen Alpha and younger millennials. They’re an audience who have grown up in a digital world and have, for the most part, always been connected. It’s this group which is driving changes in our entertainment consumption habits. Increasingly, this audience is moving away from individualised social amplification that social media provides, to a more community-centric, connected, decentralised experience. The type of experience that was born in gaming environments but has now broadened across content and culture.

Much of the evolution of Twitch is credited to our community. They stream their passions, they create new and evolving ways to excite audiences and we know this will continue – meaning the content mix will continue to evolve. There’s never been a better time than now to be in the entertainment industry. With these trends in mind and keeping our pulse on what our audience is consuming, the possibilities are endless for what we can make happen on Twitch, and our team is dedicated to setting a new standard for interactive and community-driven experiences.

Thanks Fiamma and Lewis for all for all of this information. If you want to know more about Twitch, you can visit here.

For more from Women Love Tech on gaming, visit here.

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