Generally, video games follow a predictable curve in terms of interest generated, presenting the highest peak during the first weeks after launch. The hype is usually through the roof, especially if it is a Triple-A, and it evaporates as the hours go by.
However, the recent history of the industry has confirmed that there are no dead games, but that they are simply waiting, expectant, waiting for some streamer, big or small, to pick them up to give them a second life. This indirect promotion that influencers offer a priori old-fashioned games, or simply unknown to the great mass, exerts a resurrection effect on them.
The great example that comes to mind is without a doubt Among Us, but this has happened for a lifetime. And it is that the communities follow the fashions, as in any other field, and it is not surprising that they tend to overturn the titles that are enjoyed by their favorite live streamers .
Among Us (released June 2018)
The party genre hit hard at the end of summer 2020 when Among Us exploded as the leading video game in the gaming industry. Their constant interaction and multistream allowance are, without a doubt, the main causes of their success. The InnerSloth title is available for PC, Android, and now also on Nintendo Switch, with the imminent arrival for Xbox.
In terms of numbers, this is a most interesting case. Among Us was officially launched in June 2018 and its first two years, it accumulated an average of fewer than 100 viewers. When the most important intercontinental streamers laid their eyes on him, his numbers multiplied by 20 thousand and he made the covers of Twitch, YouTube, and all platforms.
Rust (Released December 2013)
The most recent case in Rust, which became fashionable in 2021 thanks to the private server enjoyed daily by the biggest streamers on the Spanish scene. Unlike Among Us, Rust has always maintained a certain audience, but nothing compared to the heights it is reaching this January.
It is no longer that it surpassed one million simultaneous viewers, but that LEGOLAND continues to pay off and Rust has managed to stabilize itself as the most consumed game on all Twitch, above League of Legends and even Just Chatting. It is curious to see how, more than 7 years after the official launch, the game from Facepunch Studios acquires the visibility it deserves .
Fall Guys, the paradigm of passing fashion
Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout walkthrough has certain similarities to Among Us and Rust, but its recent release (February 2020) prevents it from being on the same list. However, it also became fashionable thanks to the attention that the great streamers gave it, with broadcasts that hosted some of the biggest figures nationwide.
His reign, however, was short-lived with the appearance of Among Us on the scene. The Mediatonic title tried to survive with the development of new seasons, circuits and challenges, but could not prevent its grotesque decline. Currently, Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout is around 4,000 viewers on average on Twitch when a few months ago it surpassed 700,000 viewers.
Phasmophobia, seen and unseen
case of Phasmophobia, that cooperative horror video game, is even more extreme than that of Fall Guys. With somewhat more humble numbers and a very specific peak, the Kinetic Games title could barely survive a month in the Twitch elite. As always, it was the influencers who caused their rise, and their absence that caused their decline.
It should be remembered that these high figures on platforms such as Twitch are always accompanied by massive downloads on the different sales portals. The fact that the biggest streamers play a title encourages their purchase, to a greater or lesser extent, by all their viewers. This is why Twitch is a good thermometer for monitoring industry trends.
