Despite the struggle that has been 2020 for many, YouTube is focused on the good to come out of it. This year has been YouTube Gaming's biggest year ever with over 40 million active gaming channels and 100 billion watch time hours.
Actually, YouTube Gaming's success in 2020 is likely due to the hardships surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic and stay-at-home restrictions. Many have either started new careers or monetized their hobbies after being furloughed, or have had much more free time at home due to closures of outdoor activities and mandatory stay-at-home orders. Thanks to YouTube's accessibility, both for content creators and viewers, its platform has seen many new YouTubers or the growth in veteran creators.
Whether it's livestreaming, talking about the newest rumors in Genshin Impact, or game theories about The Last of Us Part 2, YouTube Gaming is a platform for a vast array of content creators, and 2020 has never been a better time to become one. More than 80,000 gaming creators hit 100,000 subscribers, over 1,000 hit 5 million subscribers, and 350 creators reached a whopping 10 million subscribers.
One of the biggest YouTube Gaming success stories is YouTuber Valkyrae, who was declared not only one of the biggest female streamers on all platforms, but YouTube's Head of Gaming also previously declared Valkyrae to be the fastest-growing livestreamer in the world.
Having such a large platform on YouTube gaming has led to charitable efforts by content creators as many around the world struggle in 2020. Jacksepticeye raised over $500,000 for the fight against COVID-19, with $300,000 of that to come in less than three hours of the charity livestream, and even donated $100,000 of his own money. Other creators like Rooster Teeth, TheDonato, and CoryxKenshin used their platforms to raise awareness and benefit charities for the pandemic. YouTube also hosted five charity tournaments in Mexico, the United States, and Europe throughout 2020. The Game Theorists raised over $1 million for St. Jude's Hospital in a charity livestream with the help of other creators like Markiplier, Game Grumps, and Mr Beast.
While stay-at-home orders were in place and the need to stay socially distant continued, YouTube became a platform where people could stay entertained and connected from the comfort of their own homes. Fortnite became a home for concerts and those who couldn't join in-game watched the broadcasts of Travis Scott on YouTube. The Google-owned site also became a major destination to watch esports tournaments for games like Call of Duty League, Overwatch League, and League of Legends Worlds.
Source: YouTube Official Blog