Facebook Gaming loses over 70% of its channels in 2022

After experiencing a huge growth of their platforms at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the three largest game streaming services saw in 2022 a drop in their audience and active channels, with Facebook Gaming being the most affected and losing more than 70% of its channels.

According to a report by the Stream Hatchet website, released this February, the number of hours watched on the three largest game streaming platforms (Twitch, YouTube Gaming and Facebook Gaming) fell by 13.5% in 2022.

Twitch and YouTube Gaming‘s viewership drops by less than 10%, ending the year with a 6% and 9% drop, respectively, in their hours watched compared to 2021. Facebook Gaming, on the other hand, saw an impressive drop of 54% in its audience.

According to the report, the main reason for the drop in Facebook Gaming’s audience was the closure of the dedicated app for the platform’s live streams, which stopped working in the third quarter of 2022.

Facebook Gaming, Twitch and YouTube Gaming numbers

Twitch YouTube Gaming Facebook Gaming — Picture: Courtesy

In total numbers, Twitch continues to be the absolute leader in the gaming live streaming market, despite also having shown a drop in its audience and active channels.

According to the Stream Hatchet report, Twitch ended 2022 with a total of 22.4 million active channels (down from 24.4 million in 2021). The reason for this drop, according to the report, is directly related to the change in the revenue policy for content creators.

Becoming the platform most Twitch dissidents chose for their streams, YouTube Gaming saw a 9% drop in its hours watched in 2022. In the year, the platform varied in its viewership, losing 14% in the first quarter and earning 4% in the third. Despite new users, such as the popular Ludwig, YouTube Gaming saw a 24% drop in its active channel lineup.

Facebook Gaming suffered the most in 2022. In addition to the huge drop in hours watched, the platform also saw a real exodus of its creators, losing an incredible 74% of its channels: going from 2.17 million in 2021 to just 559K in 2022.