Twitch hours viewed drop to 1.64bn in quiet April
But StreamElements reports Rust enjoyed 19 million hours increase thanks to Waves of Change update
The latest StreamElements report reveals that Twitch users watched 1.64 billion hours of livestreamed footage in April.
Last month's report put March's total viewing hours at 1.56 billion, but StreamElements and Rainmaker.gg have since updated the data, showing that April is actually 7% down on the 1.77 billion hours recorded in the previous month.
Similarly, daily hours watched were down 5% from 57 million to 55 million. In fact, the number of daily hours watched has dropped slightly each month this year.
The declines can be attributed to a quiet April, with no major game releases or events to deliver a boost.
While Fallout games have rocketed up both the physical and digital charts in the UK and Europe, these titles do not appear in the Top 10 most watched categories, which are instead led by Just Chatting (238 million hours watched) and Grand Theft Auto 5 (128 million), as well as live service games such as Fortnite, Counter-Strike GO and League of Legends.
Only two of the Top 10 categories saw an increase in hours watched, with Rust seeing the biggest increase month-on-month. The game's Waves of Changes update pushed viewing hours up by 227% — or 19 million hours to put it into context.
Total hours watched for Rust came in at 27 million, putting it at No.9. Call of Duty Warzone was at No.8 with 33 million hours — the only other game to see an increase at 19%.
"April was a slow month with few significant events and no major game launches, but Rust's massive update provided one notable peak among the valleys regarding viewership," said StreamElements co-founder Or Perry.
"Jynxzi was another highlight by being the first creator to be a top streamer twice in 2024 and putting him on the short list of recurring crown wearers, like xQc, Gaules, KaiCenat, and fps_shaka."