Online content creators are now, more than ever, the avenue through which many games are able to rise to success – or plummet to failure. Twitch streams and Let’s Plays on YouTube put thousands of new eyeballs on AAA and indie titles alike, serving as testing grounds for prospective new players as well as entertainment in their own right.
While some developers still fear that platforms like Twitch will hurt single-player games, one specific genre has demonstrated how to adapt and thrive in the age of Twitch streams and Let’s Plays: survival games.
Ever since the days of Minecraft, and later DayZ, survival games have found audiences on Twitch and YouTube. Games like Rust and ARK: Survival Evolved maintain steady presences on Twitch and YouTube years after release, and the genre isn’t slowing down either.
Source: IGN.com Streaming Might Hurt Single-Player Games, But Survival Games Are Thriving