The MMORPG Lost Ark is actually already 5 years old. It launched for us 1.5 years ago and set records. Over 1.2 million viewers were there for the release in February 2022 on Twitch, but afterwards, it became quieter around the game. However, last week it managed to reclaim the top spot on Twitch.
What’s happening with Lost Ark on Twitch? Since September 13, Lost Ark has been back on top of Twitch and has been among the most watched games daily. Right behind the “Just Chatting” category, it has only occasionally given up first place to GTA 5.
It surpassed long-time favorites like League of Legends, Valorant, and CSGO, gaining over 120,000 concurrent viewers daily. This is especially remarkable considering that the MMORPG had a peak of 26,000 viewers just the day before, on September 12 (via SteamDB).
On September 16, Lost Ark set a record with 189,476 concurrent viewers, the highest number since its release. There are two reasons for this, perfectly timed.
The new boss Thaemine in the trailer:
Lost Ark at Number 1 on Twitch, but why?
Why does Lost Ark achieve these numbers? Major credit goes to two big events, one in its home country Korea and one here in the West, that are currently exciting players.
In Korea, professionals are competing to achieve the first global kill of the new raid boss:
- In Korea, the raid boss Thaemine was released on September 13. He is said to be the toughest boss in the game. Hardcore players are streaming their progress in the race for the first global kill, which has yet to be achieved by any group as of today (September 18).
- This is also the first time that the developer Smilegate is offering official rewards and titles for the first kills of the boss, further motivating the players.
- Big and well-known Lost Ark streamers like Saintone, ZealsAmbition, and ATK are also trying their hand at it and have drawn many viewers to their channels. Channels like that of the Korean top player handongsuk alone had nearly 70,000 viewers on one channel (via sullygnome).
In the West, it is mainly about returnees and new players:
- Here, the jump-start servers launched on September 13, offering new fans and returnees an opportunity to quickly ascend to the endgame. They remain among themselves, which is intended to prevent gatekeeping. Long-term, the servers will be integrated into the normal servers. Here, one can calmly get to know the game and catch up at the same time.
- This not only led to an increase of nearly 20% in players (via Steamcharts), but it also caused larger streamers to take a closer look at the MMORPG.
- Among them are international names like shroud, Asmongold, or Metashi. Also, German streamers like SenderFN have streamed a lot of Lost Ark in recent days and achieved impressive numbers (via sullygnome).
Can Lost Ark maintain this level?
Will Lost Ark stay this big? It is not expected. Once the race for the first Thaemine kill ends and the big variety streamers switch back to the next game, it is likely that Lost Ark will become quieter on Twitch again. However, the two events can be classified as a great success for the MMORPG.
For the first time since December 2022, player numbers on Steam are rising, and some, thanks to the jump-start servers, will surely stay longer.
What do you think? Have you noticed Lost Ark’s renewed rise? Are you surprised to see the game so high up? Feel free to write it in the comments here at MeinMMO.
We also had the biggest patch since release in August, bringing several new features.
