As the new year rolled in, so did a new game leading in hours watched across NA streaming sites. League of Legends has finally been toppled after months of wearing the crown it stole back from Fortnite. However, not only did League of Legends lose its top spot, LoL got crushed by over 10 million hours watched. But which powerhouse game was able to ring in the new year with this incredible achievement?
Turns out that Escape from Tarkov was the key to dethroning LoL after all this time — not a release of some AAA title. A game that released its closed beta in July 2017 (and currently still in closed beta) finally made its way into the spotlight thanks to its ultra-realistic gameplay and impressive detail regarding movement and customization. Battlestate Games’ crown jewel amassed almost 32 million hours watched last week; an increase of 558.4% from the previous week which is almost unheard of — especially when it comes to climbing to the #1 spot on the list.
League of Legends dropped to second place but was still able to gain a 9.31% increase and reach almost 22 million hours watched. Some of that success can be attributed to the KeSPA Cup 2019 that concluded on Sunday while more LoL viewership poured in to see the newest Twitch Rivals draft on Monday. The first LoL Twitch Rivals tournament will take place later this month beginning on January 21st so expect the title to make a run for the top spot once more. Until then, Escape from Tarkov will be in the spotlight to see if it has the sustainability to hold off other games.
Fortnite’s limited time event “Winter Fest” officially ended Monday after dishing out over a dozen new cosmetic items to those who opened the presents in the lodge. Even with the additional content, Fortnite barely squeezed out a top 3 spot over GTA V but had a 5.02% increase to reach almost 19 million hours watched. With many influencers voicing their displeasure with the current state of the game, it’s hard to say where Fortnite will land in the weeks to come but the game will definitely continue to be a staple in many players’ rotations.
Growing titles:
- GTA V reached over 18 million hours watched and grew 5.50% from the week prior but just missed a top 3 spot.
- PUBG Mobile continues to climb as the popular mobile game hit over 16 million hours watched with a 27.20% increase.
- CS:GO grew 3.52% but just missed the 10 million hours watched mark entering the new year.
- Dota 2 had the 3rd highest increase at 10.66% and generated over 7.5 million hours watched.
Declining Titles:
- Minecraft dropped 6.37% but still generated over 16 million hours watched — about 7 million more hours than CS:GO right below them.
- Garena Free Fire fell 3.35% to under 9.5 million hours watched in the wake of their “Winterlands” patch that adjusted the character and progression systems.
- PUBG had the largest decline at 15.64% to just above 7 million hours watched.
