PUBG Could Emerge As Twitch's New Monarch

Whether you love it or not, since its 2009 release, League of Legends has been one of the most popular games in the world. There's no better place to prove it than Twitch, where it remained the #1 game for three whole years running. Nevertheless, it seems that the rising popularity of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds caused that run to end in August.

Twitter user GAMOLOCO, who keeps track of and logs audience statistics for Twitch live broadcasting, disclosed this development. You may examine the different factors that were utilised to determine that PlayerUnknowns Battlegrounds was, in fact, the most-viewed game on Twitch in August by registering on the site and selecting to show the statistics by month.

Here's a little explanation:

*To put things in perspective, Max CCV stands for the maximum concurrent viewer count, AVG CCVs for the average concurrent viewer count, AVG Channels for the average number of channels streaming the game, and ACC for the average number of viewers per channel.

You can see that PUBG outperformed LoL in every category, with the exception of ACC (average number of viewers per channel). This is because, even with a comparable number of average concurrent viewers, there were almost 1000 more channels streaming the game on average.

Since many of you are probably wondering why this development is so significant, let me explain. From October 2014 to July 2017, League of Legends was the most popular game on Twitch, often achieving more viewership than any other title launched during that time. Consider that even at their best, some of the most anticipated games released during that time, like the various CoD titles, Dark Souls 3, No Man’s Sky, Final Fantasy XV, and Persona 5, couldn't match a game that was released in 2009 for even a month. League of Legends League of Legends was unbeatable, AAA title or not. In fact, not even Blizzard's Overwatch, which many thought would become the gold standard for eSports, could compete with it.

But in spite of everything, a game that is still very much in the testing stages and doesn't have the backing of any big publishers accomplished something that no other game on Twitch could.

Naturally, one must now enquire as to why this happened in the first place. The nature of each game is probably the reason for the response.

Even with all of its incredible plays, comebacks, and thrilling moments at different tournaments, League of Legends is still a relatively predictable game. An experienced spectator can often accurately guess the winner of a lane based on the match-up and can even determine the winner of the whole match based on the lineups of either side. A person in the unfavourable position will nearly always lose unless their partner provides the necessary amount of assistance; this line of action will, of course, also be foreseeable. It's an unavoidable reality that certain champions have an edge over others. LoL often finds itself in an unchanged condition for a considerable amount of time until Riot (or a professional player) shakes things up, while there are undoubtedly exceptions and plenty of shocks to be had.

On the other hand, there is perpetual turmoil in PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, a battle royale. The objective of being the last person remaining is always the same, but the means by which it is accomplished varies from game to game. For instance, as the game goes on, the safe zone becomes smaller, requiring players to interact with one another and pushing them to use a variety of playstyles and strategies throughout a single battle. In a similar vein, there is an unparalleled level of anxiety in this genre due to the knowledge that anything might happen at any moment. Every move you take must be calculated or intentional, or else you risk being shot dead for no apparent reason. On the other hand, no amount of strategy or preparation can prevent you from being shot to death the moment you step into a home.

It's just more exhilarating to watch a game that, barring extraordinary circumstances, finds fresh ways to thrill you with every match than one that will always end the same way. Of course, this isn't saying much for everyone.

What does this imply, then?

Not much for League of Legends. Second place is totally acceptable, despite how corny it may seem, particularly if it continues to show really impressive results. Nothing indicates that the game is losing ground, and once the next big patch is released, there won't be any obstacles in the way of its return to the top spot. Whether you like it or not, LoL seems to be here to stay.

However, this has a significant impact on PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds.As previously said, even though it was only available for one month, this game defeated League of Legends before it was ever formally published. While similar games have been made in the past, none have quite compared to PUBG. It has received a lot of accolades and has been shattering records left and right. Some have even declared it to be a lock for Game of the Year.

Even doubters now have to concede that PUBG is a real cultural phenomenon rather than a passing fad.