CROSS-MARKET STUDY · 2026
WHO REALLY WATCHES THE STREAM
THE VIEWER ISN'T WHO YOU THINK.
A three-market read on gaming, streaming, esport, anime and how attention converts — Poland, France & the United States.
1,349
RESPONDENTS
3
MARKETS
PL·FR·US
600 · 500 · 249
WHO REALLY WATCHES THE STREAM - CROSS-MARKET STUDY · 2026 · inStreamly.com x NewGamePlus.group
01 · THE AUDIENCE
THE STREAM VIEWER IS A GAMER — NOT A SPECTATOR.
95%
PLAY GAMES THEMSELVES.
ONLY 5% DON'T PLAY AT ALL.
35%
Game 14+ hrs every week
40%
Watch streams 14+ hrs / week
HOURS SPENT GAMING PER WEEK
35%
19%
26%
15%
5%
14h+
8–14h
3–7h
Under 3h
Don't game
A third of the audience plays more than 14 hours a week. The "viewer" and the "player" are the same person .
02 · INTENSITY BY AGE
GAMING ISN'T A TEENAGE MEDIUM.
IT PEAKS AT 45+.
GAME 14H+ / WEEK
WATCH STREAMS 14H+ / WEEK
% of each age group · all markets combined
27%
30
26%
32
36%
43
42%
44
44%
46
13–17
Teens
18–24
Young adult
25–34
Core
35–45
Older
45+
Oldest
Both gaming and watching intensity climb with every age bracket. The heaviest gamers and the heaviest stream-watchers are the 45+ group — not teens. Brands targeting "gaming" as youth media are aiming at the smallest slice of the audience.
WHO REALLY WATCHES THE STREAM - CROSS-MARKET STUDY · 2026 · inStreamly.com x NewGamePlus.group
03 · ATTENTION
ATTENTION ISN'T SHATTERED.
IT'S TWO HOURS DEEP.
47 %
WATCH A SINGLE STREAM FOR 2+ HOURS NO BREAK, NO SWITCHING.
40%
Watch 14+ hrs of streams a week
8%
Drop off under 30 minutes
2H+
Single uninterrupted session
47%
1–2H
25%
30–60 MIN
20%
UNDER 30MIN
8%
2h+
This is selective, deep attention — not a deficit. Streaming earns the kind of focus TV and social have lost.
WHO REALLY WATCHES THE STREAM - CROSS-MARKET STUDY · 2026 · inStreamly.com x NewGamePlus.group
04 · DISCOVERY
STREAMING IS THE #1 WAY GAMERS FIND THEIR NEXT GAME.
STREAM
Watched someone play it
29%
A FRIEND
17%
IN-STORE REC
14%
ONLINE AD
11%
SOCIAL MEDIA
9%
2.6×
Stream out-discovers online advertising. In the US, online ads land just 3% — while stream hits 34%.
WHO REALLY WATCHES THE STREAM - CROSS-MARKET STUDY · 2026 · inStreamly.com x NewGamePlus.group
05 · CONVERSION
STREAMING ISN'T AWARENESS.
IT'S A PERFORMANCE CHANNEL.
77 %
HAVE BOUGHT A GAME AFTER WATCHING IT ON A STREAM.
57%
Bought a game they'd first written off
24%
Bought via stream 3+ times
BOUGHT 3+ GAMES VIA STREAM, BY WATCH INTENSITY
37%
18
17
9
14H+
Heavy
8–14H
3–7H
<3H
Light
More watching means more buying. Heavy watchers convert 4× more often than light ones.
WHO REALLY WATCHES THE STREAM - CROSS-MARKET STUDY · 2026 · inStreamly.com x NewGamePlus.group
06 · ESPORT
ESPORT ISN'T A NICHE.
64% OF TWITCH VIEWERS WATCH IT.
64 %
OF STREAM VIEWERS WATCH ESPORT — AT LEAST SOMETIMES.
33%
Of non-gamers watch esport regularly
18%
Watch esport regularly overall
FRANCE
24% watch regularly
68%
POLAND
15% watch regularly
64%
UNITED STATES
13% watch regularly
55%
France is the most esport-engaged market. The US has the lowest reach — and watches esport more as spectator sport than as gamer content.
WHO REALLY WATCHES THE STREAM - CROSS-MARKET STUDY · 2026 · inStreamly.com x NewGamePlus.group
07 · CULTURAL IDENTITY
ANIME, GAMING & ESPORT ARE ONE IDENTITY — NOT THREE.
SHARE GAMING 14H+ / WEEK, BY RELATIONSHIP TO ANIME
41%
32
35
28
IMPORTANT
part of life
WATCH
sometimes
NOT FOR ME
KNOW IT
not into it
Anime fans are the most intense gamers of any group.
52 %
HAVE A POSITIVE RELATIONSHIP WITH ANIME. IT'S NOT A FRINGE TASTE.
25%
Of anime fans watch esport regularly — vs 14% of everyone else. The passions feed each other.
By market, any anime interest: PL 39% · FR 64% · US 57% . France is an anime culture — 38% call it an important part of their life.
WHO REALLY WATCHES THE STREAM - CROSS-MARKET STUDY · 2026 · inStreamly.com x NewGamePlus.group
08 · CREATION
MOST OF THE AUDIENCE IS ON BOTH SIDES OF THE CAMERA.
67%
ARE PART OF THE CREATOR ECOSYSTEM — MAKING, TRYING, OR ASPIRING TO.
35%
Actively create content today
42%
Active creators in the US — the lead
WHERE THE AUDIENCE SITS ON CREATING CONTENT
20%
15%
16%
16%
33%
Create regularly
Create sometimes
Tried, stopped
Want to
No & won't
30%
Of heavy gamers (14h+) create regularly. This audience isn't passive — it produces.
WHO REALLY WATCHES THE STREAM - CROSS-MARKET STUDY · 2026 · inStreamly.com x NewGamePlus.group
09 · PLAYBOOK
THREE MARKETS, THREE PLAYBOOKS.
PL
POLAND
SKEPTICAL, BUT THE MOST EXPLORATIVE.
73%
bought a game via stream — the lowest of the three
50%
changed a purchase decision after a stream
29%
watch games they don't play — highest, ripe for discovery
FR
FRANCE
THE STRONGEST PERSUASION ENGINE.
81%
bought a game via stream — the highest conversion
64%
changed a purchase decision after a stream
64%
have an interest in anime — a deep culture crossover
US
UNITED STATES
HIGHEST INTENSITY & CREATOR CULTURE.
40%
game 14+ hours a week — the most intense market
42%
actively create content of their own
43%
watch for community — streaming as a social network
WHO REALLY WATCHES THE STREAM - CROSS-MARKET STUDY · 2026 · inStreamly.com x NewGamePlus.group
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