For more than 5 years, WoW was the most-watched MMORPG on Twitch, and it still was in July 2021. But now Final Fantasy XIV has overtaken WoW. WoW lost more than half of its total viewing hours in just a month: A combination of the end of a raid phase and the sexism scandal is likely responsible.
This is usually the largest MMORPG on Twitch: The most-watched MMORPG on Twitch has been World of Warcraft for more than 5 years.
The statistics from Sullygnome go back to January 2016: In each of the following 67 months, World of Warcraft was the most-watched online role-playing game on Twitch. It wasn’t even particularly close.
Even in July 2021, WoW had a significant lead over its online RPG competitors:
- WoW ranked 9th among the most-watched games with 47.5 million hours
- New World ranked 13th with 33.3 million hours – a beta for Amazon’s new game was running
- Final Fantasy XIV ranked 17th with 25.9 million hours – the MMORPG from Japan grew significantly in July 2021
WoW loses 28 million viewer hours and the throne
So this turned around in August 2021: In the past weeks, the picture has changed. WoW has completely collapsed and lost more than half of all viewer hours.
- In August 2021, Final Fantasy XIV has 20 million viewed hours
- World of Warcraft has fallen to 19.74 million viewed hours
Compared to the previous month, July, WoW lost 58.4% of viewer hours. However, only 19.7% fewer hours were broadcast.
August 2021 was without World First race, but with sexism scandal
What is the reason for this? In July 2021, the race for the “World First” in World of Warcraft took place: Who would be the first to defeat the new big boss?
Leading esports guilds like Complexity Limit, Echo Esports, or Method reached millions of viewer hours. Together, the 4 channels amassed over 15 million viewed hours. These hours are completely missing in August 2021.
On July 20, the guild Echo defeated the current final boss Sylvanas worldwide for the first time.
Additionally, successful individual streamers like Asmongold (2.3 million hours) stopped streaming WoW and switched to Final Fantasy XIV.
Furthermore, the sexism scandal surrounding Blizzard may have dampened the enthusiasm of some streamers and viewers for broadcasting or watching World of Warcraft on Twitch.
Final Fantasy XIV is the new largest MMORPG on Twitch, but hype is fading
Is Final Fantasy XIV that strong now? Not really. Although Final Fantasy XIV experienced an enormous boom in July: From June to July, FF14 was able to quintuple its viewer numbers, partly due to Asmongold leaving his main MMORPG WoW in favor of Final Fantasy XIV.
However, by August, Final Fantasy XIV was already weaker again, but lost far fewer viewer hours than WoW.
What makes the appeal of Final Fantasy XIV, we explain here:
That’s why Final Fantasy XIV is becoming a refuge for WoW players
Compared to the previous month, July, WoW lost 58.4% of viewer hours. However, only 19.7% fewer hours were broadcast.
August 2021 was without World First race, but with sexism scandal
What is the reason for this? In July 2021, the race for the “World First” in World of Warcraft took place: Who would be the first to defeat the new big boss?
Leading esports guilds like Complexity Limit, Echo Esports, or Method reached millions of viewer hours. Together, the 4 channels amassed over 15 million viewed hours. These hours are completely missing in August 2021.
On July 20, the guild Echo defeated the current final boss Sylvanas worldwide for the first time.
Additionally, successful individual streamers like Asmongold (2.3 million hours) stopped streaming WoW and switched to Final Fantasy XIV.
Furthermore, the sexism scandal surrounding Blizzard may have dampened the enthusiasm of some streamers and viewers for broadcasting or watching World of Warcraft on Twitch.
Final Fantasy XIV is the new largest MMORPG on Twitch, but hype is fading
Is Final Fantasy XIV that strong now? Not really. Although Final Fantasy XIV experienced an enormous boom in July: From June to July, FF14 was able to quintuple its viewer numbers, partly due to Asmongold leaving his main MMORPG WoW in favor of Final Fantasy XIV.
However, by August, Final Fantasy XIV was already weaker again, but lost far fewer viewer hours than WoW.
What makes the appeal of Final Fantasy XIV, we explain here:
That’s why Final Fantasy XIV is becoming a refuge for WoW players
