The MMORPG The Elder Scrolls Online was still one of the smaller games on Twitch in 2017. Now, it regularly ranks in the Top 50. The reason for this is Twitch Drops.
What is happening with ESO? ESO is one of the largest MMORPGs here in the West. In 2019, it was the second most popular based on Google search queries. Only WoW ranked ahead of it. However, this was not reflected on Twitch for a long time.
In 2017, it was still one of the weakest of the major MMORPGs on Twitch. Final Fantasy XIV and Black Desert were significantly ahead, Guild Wars 2 roughly on par.
In 2018, Bethesda introduced Twitch Drops. The launch was successful and brought ESO a noticeable increase in viewer numbers. However, not only the MMORPG benefitted from the Twitch Drops.
For ESO, they were also used to attract more viewers during the announcement of the new expansion Greymoor. You receive Twitch Drops in ESO by watching channels of selected partners. Over time, various rewards have been given, including potions, scrolls, skins for mounts, pets, and more.
ESO Quintupled the Viewers
What was the situation in 2017? In 2017, ESO was among the weaker games on Twitch. With an average of 613 viewers, it only ranked 115th on the platform. For comparison:
- Black Desert had 3,535 viewers for 30th place
- Final Fantasy XIV had 1,174 viewers for 67th place
- Guild Wars 2 had 603 viewers for 117th place
What changed in 2018? In the summer of 2018, ESO tested the Twitch Drops. They directly led to success. The overall viewer numbers on Twitch increased, but only ESO significantly improved its ranking among MMORPGs compared to the previous year:
- Black Desert had 4,062 viewers for 38th place
- ESO reached 1,539 viewers and thus 75th place
- Final Fantasy XIV had 1,491 viewers for 78th place
- Guild Wars 2 had 617 viewers for 143rd place
How did it look in 2019? The upward trend continued in 2019. At the end of the year, ESO even introduced the Twitch Drops for console users.
- Black Desert had 3,830 viewers for 41st place
- Final Fantasy XIV had 3,666 viewers for 42nd place
- ESO reached 3,015 viewers and thus 48th place
- Guild Wars 2 had 578 viewers for 166th place
Notably, the numbers for 2019 show that Final Fantasy XIV greatly benefited from the hype surrounding the Shadowbringers expansion. There were several days in 2019 where over 80,000 people tuned in.
In March 2020, ESO is currently slightly ahead of Final Fantasy XIV.
Moreover, the content and grind mean that players prefer to play themselves rather than watch others.
Fans of Guild Wars 2 are envious of ESO
How do fans of other MMORPGs react? In the Guild Wars 2 community, Twitch Drops have been a topic for a while, as a Reddit thread from May 2018 shows. In it, the user Birkiedoc describes the changes in ESO:
ESO released an expansion this week and added Twitch Drops that reward watching streamers playing the game. The Drops are currently in a testing phase and are only available for selected streams.
I asked in every single stream that had active Twitch Drops if they felt that the Drops were beneficial:
Every single stream I entered said they had never seen so many followers and new viewers, and they all set personal records for viewer numbers.
I wonder what you as a community think if GW2 activated Twitch Drops for the streamers?
Also, well-known GW2 streamers and users on Reddit commented on the topic:
- Jawgeous (September 2018): “Personally, and about 6 other streamers, I urgently advised ArenaNet to implement Twitch Drops.”
- In the Podcast Talking Skritt Episode 188, the topic of Twitch Drops was discussed.
- In the German Guildnews podcast, it was discussed in several episodes.
- The Reddit user Evangeder criticized ArenaNet for marketing decisions in November 2019 and also called for the introduction of Twitch Drops to attract new players.
But so far, fans of Guild Wars 2 are still waiting in vain for Twitch Drops.
Warframe and Escape from Tarkov are also successful
Which games also benefited from Twitch Drops? Twitch Drops were introduced in early 2017, and the MMO Warframe was one of the first games to actively use them.
In 2017, the “Plains of Eidolon” update was released alongside the first Twitch Drops for Warframe. This even led to a blog post on Twitch.
The entire concept worked, and Warframe saw a massive jump in viewer numbers in the early days:
The shooter Escape from Tarkov also benefited from Twitch Drops at the end of 2019. Additionally, several factors contributed, including:
- Few new titles
- Some prominent streamers
- and especially cool skins and keys for special doors in the game through Twitch Drops.
The shooter jumped from an average of 9,862 viewers in October 2019 to 97,383 in January 2020.
ESO is bringing new expansion and probably also Twitch Drops
What is next for ESO? In 2020, ESO is bringing the Greymoor expansion. It takes players back to the world of Skyrim, many years before the fifth installment of the “Elder Scrolls” series.
It is quite possible that ESO will generate even more attention on Twitch. After all, many players are extremely excited about the Skyrim expansion. With it, there will likely also be new Twitch Drops, with previous drops planned, including an event for the Fool’s Festival on March 27.
If you feel inspired to play the MMORPG again after this article, we recommend the latest info:
- The new DLC Harrowstorm was recently released alongside a major patch. It made ESO 25 gigabytes lighter.
- With these tips, you can quickly level new characters in ESO.
