Finding the right video game to grow your channel can be a very difficult task for new streamers. Popular games like League of Legends and Call of Duty while fun to play are very difficult to grow in for new streamers due to the amount of competition. In our experience, we’ve found indie games and fun party games are far more effective for increasing the number of viewers. This list outlines our top game picks for smaller content creators looking to build their channel, achieve Twitch affiliate, and grow their community.
1. Albion Online
Recommended For: Streamers with 0-20 concurrent viewers.
Albion Online is an open-world sandbox MMORPG that has built a massive player base and huge hype since releasing its new free-to-play model. The reason this is such a great game choice for streamers is primarily due to the full loot PVP and massive high-risk group fighting. Think of the early days of Runescape player killing in the wilderness except with massive 100 vs 100 guild battles.
Want to drop fat damage and kill enemies or ride around on a mount snatching up player gear from both sides? The choice is yours. This all-or-nothing environment makes for naturally fun content that is sure to keep your viewers entertained. Another advantage is the game is home to a very loyal community. Once you find your niche be it PVE, PVP, or buying a plot of land for your bow crafting business, Albion has it all. To learn more about the game see the full trailer here.
2. Phasmophobia
Recommended For: Streamers with 5-20 concurrent viewers
Phasmo has been booming since it hit the steam store for early release back in September 2020. Over Halloween, many streamers and viewers bought into the hype often teaming up with friends to explore haunted locations as a team of paranormal investigators. Where the game really shines is the jump scares. If you are a Twitch affiliate we highly recommend adding a bit donation alert with audio of a scream. Not only does this drive monetization but it creates fun moments the community will remember and is great for making clips that can later be shared on your socials.
3. Minecraft
Recommended For: Streamers with 10-50 concurrent viewers.
Since its release in 2009, Minecraft has become the top-selling game of all time. Gamers have become enthralled with the sandbox game. Minecraft is good for community interaction where people can relax in the game’s nostalgia. Minecraft is one of the few games where viewers can play alongside streamers. Getting viewers playing and involved in projects generates huge vested interest.
4. Dead by Daylight
Recommended For: Streamers with 5-20 concurrent viewers.
Smaller niche game with a loyal fanbase. Suspense helps with retention as viewers want to see how the round ends. Will the streamer be gruesomely murdered?
You can also play the game with your viewers, as long as you remain the murderer searching them out (otherwise, they are able to track you down). This will let other viewers wonder if you will be able to find their community members. If you have multiple people wanting to play with you, you can use a randomized generator or limit the players to subs.
5. Old School Runescape
Recommended For: Streamers with 5-35 concurrent viewers.
Runescape was originally released in 2001 and was immediately embraced by an adoring fanbase. While a younger crowd still plays the current version of Runescape, many of the original players prefer playing and watching OSRS (Old School Runescape) for nostalgia.
There are many different niches and skills you can hone to create a niche for yourself and keep it interesting for your viewers. Player-owned houses and guilds also present the opportunity to hang out with your viewers.
The viewer of OSRS is an older fanbase, who are now typically between the ages of 25-35 years old. Many of them are employed and have a little extra cash they are willing to use on donations and subs. It’s also very common for community members to gift in-game items and currency.
6. Animal Crossing
Recommended For: Streamers with 10-30 concurrent viewers.
Animal Crossing is a new game and one of the biggest of the year. It has a huge following and people want to see what others are up to. It is a very feel-good game that’s very inclusive. You don’t need a high skill cap to do well and have fun. Make sure to weigh in your thoughts about the peach tree vs pear tree controversy.
7. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Recommended For: Streamers with 0-20 concurrent viewers.
The first of the Zelda franchise that was released in 3D, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was releases in 1998 and has a huge amount of nostalgia surrounding it. All you need to do is visit any “Song of Storms” cover on YouTube to see how much people still love the game and story decades after it was released.
The story-telling aspect of Zelda games, in general, makes for a simple way to play through a game while still being able to interact with your viewers. Like OSRS, these viewers will likely be between 25-35 years old. Many will be there to “re-experience” the game through someone else’s eyes.
8. Gwent: The Witcher Card Game
Recommended For: Streamers with 0-10 concurrent viewers.
Gwent: The Witcher Card Game generally has a great streamer to viewer ratio. Witcher 3 is one of the stand out games of the last decade but sometimes suffers from being oversaturated with streamers.If you want to start building a following in the Witcher niche, Gwent is a mini-game that has a following in its own right.
After you build up a bit of a following, you can play through the Witcher game with a Gwent focus, and grow your Witcher following further. Gwent is also a great game for streamers who love to roleplay and cosplay on Twitch.
9. Jackbox
Recommended For: Streamers with 5-20 concurrent viewers.
Jackbox Games are a group of party games that can be played by a group of people even if they are not in the same room. This means that streamers can play with their viewers. Many of the games even have Twitch integration, allowing the streamer to play it without having to worry about Twitch trolls Jackbox streamers get a lot of organic traffic from viewers specifically searching the category. This means it’s a great game pick for building a few core viewers who might enjoy your content/ personality enough. Jackbox is fast-paced and generates a huge amount of content so while this creates pressure to keep up the pace it also helps solve a common new streamer issue of dead airtime.
10. Marbles on Stream
Recommended For: Streamers with 10-40 concurrent viewers.
Great way to start a stream. Very popular for streamers to do 10-30 minutes of marbles while the stream picks up the regular viewers. Gives them something fun to play and mess around in. The game works well if played before a story driven game that regular viewers won’t want to miss.
The time spent on marbles works as a buffer. Also really good if you need to take a toilet break or make some food. A game of marbles takes 2-3 minutes and gives viewers something to watch in the meantime. Optionally, you can set the game up to allow players to bet channel points from Streamlabs with each other on if a particular marble will come in first.
11. Starcraft II
Recommended For: Streamers with 3-20 concurrent viewers.
StarCraft 2 is one of the most popular if not the most popular RTS games of all time. It has a huge viewer base even today and a great pick if you are skilled at RTS. You can pull in viewers and retain them with impressive strategy and micro.
12. Outward
Recommended For: Streamers with 0-20 concurrent viewers.
Outward is an open-world RPG with a heavy focus on several survival elements such as warmth, hunger, fatigue, and thirst.
Outward is a great pick for a new streamer primarily due to the immensely popular co-op play. Do you find it difficult to keep talking on stream? Invite an entertaining friend or a fellow streamer and jump into an open-world RPG with no level grind or gear restrictions. The game’s hardcore mode also implements a system where on death there is a 20% chance it’s permanent which requires restarting the game. This makes for a great few moments of intense tension when you fall in battle. In my opinion, the anticipation is even worse than a game where permadeath is guaranteed and is sure to be an entertaining event for your viewers regardless of the outcome.
13. Raft
Recommended For: Streamers with 10-20 concurrent viewers.
Raft is a great game for new streamers still getting a feel for gaming while managing chat. A lot of games are difficult to balance entertaining your audience while also successfully working your way through the content. Raft is a great pace and offers plenty of time to get your viewers invested in the adventure by taking onboard their opinions when making decisions throughout the game. You can add additional stakes in regards to food, water or even permadeath and it has 2-4 player co-op.
While appearing on the top 3 rows of the category requires a 10 viewer minimum there is a thriving community who love the game and every few months new content is released and the category blows up again. If you have already streamed it once it is a really easy game to return to at a later date.
How to Find Additional Games
You can use TwitchStrike to find out what games are currently trending in your current hour. Here is how it works:
Step 1: Visit the site’s section about “What to stream this hour”
Step 2: Browse the list of games, taking note of the number of channels currently streaming, the average viewer count, and the percentage of viewers that the top 5% of that game’s category owns.
Step 3: Double check current trends on Twitch as TwitchStrike isn’t always accurate and doesn’t always update accordingly
Step 4: Set up your stream.
Chris
Chris is a digital marketer with a strong background in small business and influencer branding. He applies his knowledge of content and promotional strategies to design actionable advice for new and intermediate streamers. When he’s not busy crunching analytics, he can be found in the salt pits of League of Legends.