This week, Stream Hatchet analyzed the growth of simulated racing viewership over the past six months. The genre has grown in popularity especially as a form of “sports” during the pandemic which halted most traditional events. Professional sim racers compete in large events from the comfort of their home setup as millions tuned in to watch. Games like iRacing and Assetto Corsa Competizione generated massive viewership north of 20M hours watched in 2020.
Simulated racing is in a position to further increase its live streaming market share while it’s trending. More events, sponsorships, drivers, and fans could lead the genre to even higher records in 2021. External factors like safety compared to actual racing, lower barriers to entry, and even sports betting could aid the genres growth.
- Since August, simulated racing total hours watched increased 94% month-over-month. January 2021 has been the most successful month with over 4.4M hours watched from all sim racing titles.
- Even as traditional sports have slowly been reintroduced during the pandemic, sim racing continues to climb higher. The interest generated from live streams appears to be sticky creating a prosperous community.
- Sim racing events have also helped the genre grow in popularity. The F1 Virtual Grand Prix #2 peaked at over 308K concurrent viewers in April of 2020.
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