After hitting its peak three years ago, game streaming has been losing steam. The industry is grappling with high infrastructure costs, audience fatigue, and sharp competition from traditional gaming models like downloads and cloud gaming, which has caused a considerable revenue slowdown. Since 2022, the annual growth rate has nearly halved, and this negative trend is expected to continue in the following years.
According to data presented by Betideas.com, the annual growth rate in the game streaming market is projected to drop sixfold, reaching just 2.9% by the end of the decade.
Overcrowded Market Slows Growth
The game streaming space is more crowded and competitive than ever. In 2024, Twitch, the world’s largest game streaming platform, reported over 6.9 million active streamers, down 3 million from its peak in 2021. Despite this 30% decline, breaking into the game streaming space is harder than ever, with so many creators fighting for followers.
But it’s not just streamers feeling the impact; market growth is also taking a hit, and Statista data show just how strong this negative trend is. While global revenue has more than doubled in five years, soaring from $6.7 billion in 2020 to a projected $15.3 billion in 2025, the annual growth rate is in freefall.
In 2022, game streaming revenues surged 21% and hit $9.7 billion, marking an all-time high for the industry. This figure includes revenues from live streaming advertising, like ads on Twitch, subscriptions or donations to streamers, and sponsorships for a special status of streamers.
However, that momentum quickly faded. Statistics show revenue growth dipped to 20% in 2023 and then tumbled to 16.7% last year. Statista expects a further slowdown in 2025, with the annual growth rate reaching just 12.3% before a severe drop in the years ahead.
With streamers struggling to monetize and engagement levels slipping, the entire market faces a dramatic downturn. Statista expects the annual growth rate to plummet sixfold to just 2.9% by 2029.  The average revenue per user will also decline, falling from an all-time high of $10.51 in 2025 to $10.38 in 2029.
Viewer Growth to Decline by 60% Compared to the Last Five Years
But the revenue slowdown isn’t the only concern for game streamers. According to Statista, viewer growth is also fading. Since 2020, game streaming has attracted more than 800 million new viewers, nearly doubling the global audience from 700 million in 2020 to 1.5 billion in 2025. However, such impressive growth is unlikely to continue.
Statista expects the market to gain around 300 million new viewers by 2029, bringing the total to 1.8 billion. While still a considerable increase, this marks a steep 60% drop compared to the previous five years.