WoW Classic could top Twitch most-watched week for 2019
Activision-Blizzard / TwitchWoW Classic has dominated Twitch viewership since its release, and it’s on track to have the most watched week in 2019.
The rebirth of Blizzard’s MMORPG has brought old and new players alike out of the woodwork to experience one of the best games of all time as it was on release. However, not many people expected it to be this popular.
In its opening week, World of Warcraft Classic has been exposed to long queue times, server crashes, queues at mob spawn locations, and insane viewership numbers. The hype generated has made the release of the game one of the most successful launches of all time.
World of Warcraft Classic has dominated Twitch since its release.According to a report by The Esports Observer, WoW Classic is on track to take over The International 2019 and post the most watched week during 2019 on Twitch.
- Read more: WoW Classic breaks 1 million viewers
Dota 2 had 34 million hours watched last week thanks to TI9, which surpassed the record set by Apex Legends in February. Blizzard’s newest release sits in second with 32.7 million hours watched this week, while Apex Legends is the only other game to break through 30 million in 2019.
This week's Top @Twitch Channels:
:first_place_medal: @Asmongold
:second_place_medal: #StarLadderMajor
:third_place_medal: @SodapoppintvMore details:https://t.co/q4PIghhyuc pic.twitter.com/Wrgy3x3Hta
— The Esports Observer (@esportsobserved) September 2, 2019
Part of the reason behind the success of WoW Classic on Twitch is the number of streamers who have been going live around the clock to play the game. Michael ‘shroud’ Grzesiek hosted a 24-hour marathon on release day, while popular WoW streamer Zack ‘Asmongold’ has put up over 60 hours of content across the week.
- Read more: Jokerd hits world-first level 60
New streamers have also emerged through the ranks. ‘Jokerd’ became the first person to hit level 60 in the reboot, and has garnered fame as a result. He put in a 39-hour marathon stream to start the grind, and was recently partnered on Twitch after the effort.
His stats have exploded too, going from a handful of viewers per stream to over 14,000, and his follower count rose from 1,000 to over 120,000.
Some of the most popular WoW streamers this week include Asmongold, Shroud, and TimTheTatmanHowever, the hype will eventually die down. Maintaining a stream schedule of 60 hours a week is almost impossible, and WoW Classic’s viewership numbers will inevitably decline as streamers go to different games.
As the world firsts keep getting conquered, some fans and players might lose interest in the game too.
But, if WoW Classic can bunch through those final couple of million to surpass Dota 2, it’ll be a great sign for the World of Warcraft community, and give those content creators more eyes in the future.