#Top5OnTwitch for May 25th - 31st

Which games are rising on the Twitch charts? Which titles are sliding? We bring you the hard numbers and reaction, every week, in the GAMESIGHT power rankings!

Note: The following rankings are based on a combination of both gross and percentage change to viewership and total streams. As such, dominant and stable titles near the top of the charts will not always, or often, appear. To compare to last week's rankings, click here.

Graphs for Top Rising and Falling titles show previous two weeks for context.

Top 5 Rising

1. Dauntless

Increase Viewership: 934,480 Hours (12th Overall), 218.24%

Increase Streamers: 25,387 Channels(2nd Overall), 131.59%

Dauntless, the free to play action RPG from Phoenix Labs and Epic Games was the biggest new title on Twitch in our previous rankings, and it's followed that up with an even bigger surge in its second week on the platform, more than doubling the number of participating streamers and tripling its overall viewership. With it becoming the first online title to launch featuring full cross-play functionality, including for those playing on the Playstation 4, the game received a great deal of positive press upon release, even before journalists and commentators began praising the actual mechanics of the title. The game underneath, it seems, is a big draw in unto itself.

One of the most interesting aspects of Dauntless' success is that it's viewership is incredibly well distributed, with only eleven of the more than 40,000 participating streamers accruing more than 10,000 hours of during the week, and none reaching 50,000 hours viewed. This should make for a very stable community of streamers; there are no megastar variety streamers pulling in hundreds of thousands of hours of viewership, no creators who can dramatically impact the game's performance if they move on to another title. That means we might be seeing the beginnings of a dedicated community that's in this for the long haul. It remains to be seen how long this momentum will maintain, and what position Dauntless will be in when it plateaus, but it's off to an incredible start, and we'll be closely watching to see just how it plays out.

2. Fortnite

Increase Viewership: 10,985,877 Hours (1st Overall), 58.48 %

Increase Streamers: 116,602 Channels (1st Overall), 30.20%

As we've said before, we don't often feature the most enormous, consistent games on Twitch in these rankings, as while they are often climbing (or falling) the fastest, every week, in terms of raw overall numbers, the actual proportion of its overall audience of community of streamers is typically still small, compared to the enormous numbers from which it began. But, sometimes, it's impossible to ignore the sheer magnitude of these changes. This is one such week, with the sheer volume of Fortnite's increased hours and total streamers dwarfing every other title in the space, and deserving a top spot on our list of fastest growing titles on the platform.

In the latest in a long line of updates featuring partnerships with outside brands and organizations, Fortnite teamed up with Air Jordan to introduce a new gamemode called "Downtown Drop," a movement and exploration themed timed game mode that features skateboards and a "Brooklyn-inspired" downtown area. One of the things that the team at Epic Games has done so well is making sure that these constant updates don't just provide cosmetic changes, but new ways of playing the game that feel markedly different from the typical battle royale showdowns. With each new addition, they create a more diverse, varied experience, and turn Fornite into something bigger than a game and more akin to a platform in its own right. This past week is just another in a long line of examples that show just how effective their strategies for supporting and improving the most popular game in the world have been.

3. Battalion 1944

Increase Viewership: 874,585 Hours (15th Overall), 324.87%

Increase Streamers: 3767 Channels (18th Overall), 319.50%

Battalion 1944 is an online shooter that emerged from early access this week and immediately saw enormous spikes in viewership and overall Twitch presence. Quadrupling all of its numbers from the previous week, it was picked up by some of the most recognized names on Twitch: Lirik, DrDisrespect, and GoldGlove.

And 500,000 of the more than 800,000 hours gained in term of total viewership came from one creator, Shroud, one of the top 15 most watched channels on the entire platform, who says that Battalion 1944 is currently "the best first-person-shooter our right now - fact, hands down." While having viewership so highly concentrated is a vulnerable position for a game, that kind of endorsement and promotion from such an enormously popular creator has incalculable value.

What happens next for this title is up in the air. Will the attention of Shroud and his compatriots yield even more engagement in the weeks to come, or will the audience disappear if Shroud moves on? Only time will tell. But, for now, the teams at Bulkhead Interactive and Square Enix should be proud that they've put their game in the best position to succeed.

4. Splitgate: Arena

Increase Viewership: 726,834 Hours (18th Overall), 337.75%

Increase Streamers: 8731 Channels (10th Overall), 187.64%

The rise continues for Splitgate: Arena, the unholy marriage of Halo and Portal that emerged from its beta tests last week and made our list of the top new titles on Twitch. For those rankings, the game managed to reach its position on the back of only a single day of playership, with the title releasing on that Friday. This time, with a whole week to build out its Twitch presence, its numbers continued to climb, and it did so by holding on to the majority of its biggest creators, while also attracting myriad newer, smaller channels to expand its foundation and become more stable.

Streamers like Dr. Disrespect, summit1G, and xQcOQ all stuck around for this, the game's second week, featuring the title for multiple streams while averaging more than 10,000 viewers. It is notable, however, that these streams all took place somewhat early in the week, and the game's numbers dramatically declined after Tuesday, May 28th. Total streams remained relatively stable, so while this is a sign that the larger creators might have moved on, it doesn't mean the community is leaving with them. That begs the question: would a stable population of consistent players make the game a success, even with reduced viewership? We might not ever have to answer that question, if larger creators come back, but, if not, it will be an interesting case study on that very question.

5. Minecraft

Increase Streamers: 1,427,748 Hours (8th Overall), 85.30%

Increase Streamers: 12,841 Channels (5th Overall), 36.90%

As with Fortnite, the sheer volume of Minecraft's gains this week warrant enough attention to include the title in our rankings of the top rising titles on Twitch, but in this instance we're having a bit more difficulty in regards to figuring out just what caused this week's spikes in total viewership and creator participation.

The 10th anniversary of Minecraft's release took place on May 17th, and with it came a classic version of the game which can be played in browser, along with celebratory maps, sales on content, and the announcement of the forthcoming ARG experience, Minecraft Earth. But, looking above, it's clear that viewership exploded between the dates of May 29-31. These dates do not coincide with any content release, sale, or event that we can find, and yet there improved performance is undeniable. In the days and weeks ahead, we'll be watching to see whether these numbers continue to increase or begin to fall, and whether that reveals more information as to what exactly is responsible for this improvement. In the meantime, the upward momentum is enough to make it our final rising title for the week.

Top 5 New Releases

1. Layers of Fear 2

Total Viewership: 1,319,315 Hours, 23rd Overall

Total Streamers: 4499 Channels, 55th Overall

Everybody likes to watch their favorite streamers yelp and squeal in fear as they crawl their way through the latest horror experience, and that was on full display this week as Layers of Fear 2 burst onto the Twitch scene, easily taking the top spot in our list of new releases. As a single player title focused on story and exploration, it might not spend the longest time at the top of the charts; the novelty of the experience will wear off once the story is completed and the scares have been revealed. But, its taking advantage of its time in the spotlight, attracting creators like alanzoka, CohhCarnage, and LIRIK and being enjoyed by their sizable audiences. History may tell us that this success will be short lived, but this level of engagement upon release is absolutely a resounding success for Bloober Team and Gun Media. The weeks ahead will see these numbers decline, but it's absolutely made the impact its creators were hoping for.

2. Deathgarden

Total Viewership: 304,776 Hours, 66th Overall

Total Streamers: 3501 Channels, 68th Overall

Emerging this week onto early access, Deathgarden is an asymmetric survival multiplayer experience, pitting teams of survivors against a single ruthless hunter, with the latter doing everything he can to prevent the other players from escaping. In only two days, it managed to accrue viewership similar to that which titles like World of Warships and Sekiro gained over the entire week. That might not be a position at the absolute top of the charts, but it's very impressive for a smaller title with limited time in its players' hands.

It will be interesting to watch this game's audience in the days ahead. Asymmetric multiplayer games have a mixed history on Twitch, with games like Friday the 13th and of course Left 4 Dead spending significant time towards the top of the charts, but titles like Evolve dying on the vine. Given its position as a less well known, still-in-development title, there's less pressure for this title to succeed immediately, so it can grow organically without players or viewers without having to meet demanding expectations. If it can maintain its current population of streamers, it should have a decent runway to build out their community and try to plant their flag in the Twitch space.

3. Void Bastards

Total Viewership: 650,686 Hours, 41st Overall

Total Streamers: 1806 Channels, 118th Overall

The big, stylish, anticipated indie of the week is absolutely Void Bastards, a Bioshock-inspired strategy shooter from Blue Manchu and Humble Bundle Games. Released on the 28th, the game was picked up by creators like MOONMOON_OW, CohhCarnage, and AdmiralBahroo while also receiving positive reviews from outlets like Polygon and GameSpot, along with commentators like Jim Sterling. What we have here is a classic example of all the things that make an indie-hit work. It's bright and colorful, with a distinct style all its own, and combines inspiration from much beloved games past with its own unique style and execution. Additionally, while it's a campaign-based single-player title, it's also built around rogue-like elements and randomization that can keep the game fresh, even beyond its first playthrough.

So, will Void Bastards continue to grow? While that to be the case next week, its first full seven days of availability, in the long term we really don't know. Sometimes, a rogue-like sticks around seemingly forever, as the community commits to faster, better playthroughs and engages with frequent updates. The Binding of Isaac springs to mind. Will that be the case here? Only time will tell.

4. Warhammer: Chaosbane

Total Viewership: 226,596 Hours, 84th Overall

Total Streamers: 927 Channels, 211th Overall

The Warhammer universe is rich and diverse, with an enormous community of committed players, readers, viewers, and fans ready to scoop up every addition to the world's canon. This past week saw such an expansion, with the release of the Diablo-like Warhammer: Chaosbane on May 31st, the final day of our rankings. With only a single day to accrue viewership, the title still managed to build out a large enough community of streamers and viewers to make our list of the top new releases on Twitch.

Viewership was well distributed, with only two of the more than 600 streamers accruing more than 10,000 hours of watch-time, which indicates no one or handful of creators could leave and tank the game's overall numbers. This puts the game in a strong position to maintain its current level of participation, if not necessarily to grow. But, given that we only have one day here to look at, it's too early to know for sure what will come next. The game could explode, this week, if one or two big creators decide to dive in and end up enjoying themselves. Encouraging that kind of engagement would be wise, either through direct sponsorship or general outreach, but, for now, we can at least say that the first day of the game's Twitch life was strong enough to call a success.

5. Conan Unconquered

Total Viewership: 133,415 Hours, 127th Overall

Total Streamers: 347 Channels, 426th Overall

Our final title, Conan: Unconquered, makes this list in spite of having not a single creator accrue 10,000 hours of total viewership, with its overall numbers bringing it alongside titles like 7 Days to Die and Terraria, games often played by variety streamers as short-term distractions. For a smaller title with little to no marketing push, that's not a bad performance.

Looking above, it's clear, however, that viewership was highly concentrated on one day, the 29th, when the game was first released, and there are no particularly large creators to credit for that moment, with viewership distributed well across all participating channels. Seeing how quickly these numbers dropped off indicates that streamers, audiences, or both, don't seem to be able to focus on the title for very long before moving on. So, while it takes our final spot this week for new releases on Twitch, we think it unlikely that it will maintain those numbers for long.

Top 5 Falling

1. Rage 2

Decrease Viewership: 176,195 Hours (6th Overall), 71.32%

Decrease Streamers: 1756 Channels, 42.80%

The higher you climb upon release, the farther there is to fall, and that's one of the primary reasons that Rage 2 is our top falling title for the week. It's 1756 fewer streamers was the single largest overall loss for any game on Twitch during that week, which combined with its top-10 overall loss in gross viewership made for a week of real, sizable retraction. While this isn't an unusual path for a single-player title to take, it only took one week to go from our top rising new titles list to top falling, which one imagine's is not what the teams at ID Software, Avalanche, and Bethesda had in mind. It might find itself on this particular list again, but it's pretty clear that, in regards to Twitch presence, Rage 2 hasn't reached the levels it had been hoping for.

2. A Plague Tale: Innocence

Decrease Viewership: 353,260 Hours (3rd Overall), 56.93%

Decrease Streamers: 1068 Channels, 27.76%

Unlike Rage 2, the presence of A Plague Tale on this list is more of a success story than a cautionary tale. Coming out of nowhere to make our list of top new releases two weeks ago, this stealth-oriented, story-driven game only had so far to fall because it was initially so successful. Because it had accrued such surprising Twitch viewership, it managed to climb the charts high enough to actually make its inevitable drop off more pronounced. Given the shorter shelf-life of all single-player titles, this smaller-scale, linear experience was always going to have a limited time to make its impact, but its position here is a sign that said impact was, indeed, made. It won't climb the charts again, but it's undeniable that the game's surprising Twitch presence is an indicator of success, and something of which the teams at Asobo Studio and Focus Home Interactive can be proud.

3. Team Sonic Racing

Decrease Viewership: 161,626 Hours (7th Overall), 78.54%

Decrease Streamers: 406 Channels, 24.95%

Team Sonic Racing lost a larger volume and percentage of its viewership than Rage 2, but finds itself in the third spot this week by nature of its relatively small loss in total creators. While it's absolutely clear that whatever novelty this game held for audiences has disappeared, those plaything the game on Twitch are, for the most part, sticking around, at least for now. So, while the game's audience has shrunk precipitously, the actual community of players seems a bit more dedicated. It will never reach the heights of its competition, like the venerated Mario Kart, but if it can hold on to the streamers it still has, the game can maintain a decent foundation upon which to build and maintain its community.

4. Observation

Decrease Viewership: 568,454 Hours (2nd Overall), 87.21%

Decrease Streamers: 81 Channels, 9.54%

Observation saw the second largest overall loss in viewership on the entire platform, this week, but finds itself lower on this list by nature of it holding on to a large percentage of its streaming community. All of the biggest creators who were playing the game - Gronkh, alanzokea, LIRIK, CohhCarnage, and forsen - have moved on, which is why viewership has fallen by such a large percentage. But, in spite of this, most everyone else is still playing. So, while it's absolutely in front of far fewer viewers, the game itself is still being played by a large number of people. For a single-player title, that's a great sign that the attention wasn't limited to just Twitch, that the game is selling well and being enjoyed by a large number of players. Like all single player titles, it's lifespan is limited, and it won't be appearing on our rising list in the future. Still, this has been a huge success for everyone at NoCode and Devolver Digital.

5. American Fugitive

Decrease Viewership: 81,291 Hours (16th Overall), 70.21%

Decrease Streamers: 100 Channels, 18.69%

Finally, we have American Fugitive, which had itself a decent first week, but saw its numbers fall off as its largest participating creators, much like above with Observation, left for other titles. Curve Digital's top-down open world adventure still held on to four out of five streamers, but its audience has retracted much more, and it seems unlikely that anything will be bringing those numbers back, outside the participation of a big-time creators. Again, this is a smaller title that came, somewhat, out of nowhere, and that means that it's initial surge was still a major success. This game was seen by many viewers who would not otherwise have known it exists. Did it lead to better sales? We'd imagine. But, it seems that it's time in the spotlight is at an end.

To compare to last week's rankings, click here. Also be sure to check out the lessons every live service game, particularly looter shooters, can learn from Destiny 2's three months of Season of the Drifter, and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn for all the latest blogs, announcements, and game marketing news from the team at GAMESIGHT!