The Current State of YouTube Gaming

While one might think of Reels or TokToks (or even Vine) when it comes to short-form content, live streaming has a closer connection to a different type of short-form content: YouTube Shorts, launched as a beta in India in September 2020 before rolling out globally in 2021. Gaming was one of the first communities to take advantage of the format, and the relationship between Shorts and gaming content has only deepened since then. In 2025, Shorts have crossed the line 200 billion daily viewsmore than doubling from 70 billion the previous year, making it one of the most powerful content discovery engines ever.

For YouTube Gaming, the rise of Shorts has been a huge boost. The platform reached its all-time live streaming record with 8.8 billion hours watched in 2025, continuing to erode Twitch’s long-held market dominance. In this article, we’ll break down YouTube Gaming’s numbers in 2025, how the Shorts boom is driving creator growth across the platform, and which games/regions are participating the most in the YouTube community.

For more on the YouTube Gaming landscape in 2025 and its future impact, check out our full report now:

TL;DR Takeaways by Stream Hatchet:

• About 1 in 4 hours watched on live streaming platforms is spent on YouTube Gaming channels
• 67.2 million gaming-related YouTube Shorts posted in 2025, with a peak of 6.1 million Shorts in August
• The biggest game on the platform? In 2025, it’s Roblox with 425 million hours watched after the success of Grow a Garden in 2025

YouTube Gaming Record Breaking 2025 in the Live Streaming Arena

YouTube Gaming closed 2025 with 8.8 billion hours watched, a new platform record and a +12% YoY increase. To put that in perspective, the platform has increased its viewership fourfold since 2018, when it reached just 2.2 billion hours of viewership. This growth has not been smooth, with market share falling from 21% in 2020 to 14% in 2021 and 2022, in line with post-pandemic normalization that has hit almost all streaming platforms. But starting in 2023, YouTube Gaming experienced a serious decline, increasing from 17% to 23% to 24% of the total live streaming market in just three years.

With around 1 in 4 hours of viewing on live streaming gaming platforms now occurring on YouTube Gaming, the platform has truly surpassed “Twitch alternative” status. What makes this growth interesting is that it doesn’t come at the expense of a shrinking market. Total hours watched across all platforms also increased, meaning YouTube Gaming attracted new viewers to live streams.

YouTube Shorts: More Gaming Content Means More Discovery

The number of gaming-related Shorts videos posted on YouTube nearly doubled in less than a year, rising from 3.1 million in November 2024 to a peak of 6.15 million in August 2025. QoQ growth was strong throughout the year: +48% in Q1, +20% in Q2, and essentially flat in Q3 before a slight pullback of -11% in Q4. However, the decline is worth noting: Even with 5.3 million posts in December, creators still released more gaming Shorts than last year. This shows that there is still increasing interest in the format.

It’s not difficult to understand why creators are flocking to make Shorts videos. Gaming is the #3 niche on the platform by total views, accounting for approximately 13% of all Shorts views across formats. It’s a huge channel to tap into, and smart content creators are using it as a launching pad for their broader channels. The efforts of Canadian streamer and US-based CaylusBlox are a great example: By combining Shorts with live streaming, posts Minecraft And Roblox content each, they gained a combined 14 million new followers in 2025 alone.

Roblox Leads YouTube Gaming Core Content

Roblox topped YouTube Gaming in 2025, clocking 425 million hours watched and a staggering +294% YoY increase making it the most-watched game on the platform. Such growth is the result of Robloxyoung, mobile-heavy audience: Shorts’ existing demographic, and highly creative, clip-friendly gameplay make it a perfect fit for this format. Minecraft tells a similar story: 279 million hours watched and +91% YoY growth, second highest in the top 10. It’s a game that’s great for live streaming for creativity sessions and short, interesting content for random, one-off events and highlights.

9 of the top 10 games on YouTube Gaming saw a YoY increase in views in 2025, which speaks volumes about the platform’s overall momentum. The list itself is a pretty accurate portrait of YouTube Gaming’s strengths: Four mobile-first titles (Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Garena Free Fire, Indian Mobile BattlegroundsAnd Roblox) reflects the platform’s dominance in Southeast Asian and Latin American markets, while heavyweight esports titles are similar League of Legends (421 million hours, +19%), Counter-attack (342 million hours, +30%), and VALUE (221 million hours, +25%) shows that competitive gaming is also having a serious impact here. Roblox, League of LegendsAnd Counter-attack was one of the most popular games across all live streaming platforms in 2025, showing how well YouTube Gaming’s top 10 games stack up against broader industry trends.

Asia Dominates YouTube Gaming Viewership Globally, With Japan Leading the Way

One important note regarding our geographic data: These numbers reflect the number of hours watched generated by the Top 1000 content creators on YouTube Gaming for which country data is available, not total platform views by country. Keeping this context in mind, the geographical picture that emerges is still quite revealing. Japanese creators in the Top 1000 generated 451 million hours watched in 2025, far surpassing the United States’ 307 million hours watched. The main driver of Japan’s dominance is the burgeoning VTuber scene in the country, with virtual creators such as Hololive and NIJISANJI having huge loyal audiences.

The broader Asia story is equally interesting: 6 of the top 10 countries are in Asia, and fun fact: India, Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand combined accounted for 472 million hours watched, surpassing Japan’s total hours watched. Brazil is a country that stands out outside of Asia and the United States, with 192 million hours worked and making South America YouTube Gaming’s main market. Bulgaria’s presence in the 50M was a pleasant surprise, sneaking into the top 10 as the only Eastern European representative. For gaming publishers and brands trying to reach a global audience, this data makes a strong case for YouTube Gaming as the platform of choice for gaming communities in Asia, South America, and well beyond Western streaming markets.

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YouTube Gaming’s numbers in 2025 tell a clear story: This is a platform that has found its stride. A record 8.8 billion hours watched, the explosion of YouTube Shorts gaming, and the breadth of Top 10 games all point to a platform capable of firing on multiple cylinders at once. What’s most interesting is how these elements reinforce each other. Video Shorts drive discovery, discovery drives live-stream views, and live-stream views drive deep community engagement which allows games like Roblox to post triple-digit YoY growth.

For anyone trying to understand where gaming audiences spend their time and what content is popular, you need to understand YouTube Gaming. For more on the YouTube Gaming landscape in 2025 and its future impact, check out our full report now: