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In early 2026, community casting emerged as a major distribution channel, capturing almost half of the total watch time for popular competitive games. However, this shift was not uniform across all games. Some games saw an equal split between official streams and creator-led broadcasts, while others leaned heavily towards independent streamers. Most major mobile titles continued to rely on official broadcasts.
This data sheds light on the significant influence of community casting in the first half of 2026, highlighting the games, languages, and individual creators driving this trend.
Co-casting emerged as a significant broadcasting trend, with varying impacts based on the game
Among esports titles that accumulated over 10 million Hours Watched in the first half of 2026, community broadcasts accounted for 46.7% of the total watch time, according to Esports Charts estimates. This indicates that co-casting was almost as popular as official streams within the industry, although the distribution varied significantly by game.
Games like Counter-Strike showed a balanced viewership pattern, with audiences evenly split between official channels and independent co-streamers. This demonstrates that creator streams can coexist alongside official broadcasts without overshadowing them. Similar trends were observed in games like League of Legends, Dota 2, and Rocket League, where co-casters attracted a substantial audience while official streams retained a significant viewership.
On the other hand, certain competitive scenes were predominantly led by creators. Tournaments for Call of Duty, Fortnite, Apex Legends, and Valorant primarily relied on community streams rather than official broadcasts.
Conversely, major mobile esports remained focused on official streams. Games like Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Arena of Valor, and Battlegrounds Mobile India saw their audiences sticking to official channels, which continued to serve as the central hubs for these communities.
Language markets reveal the impact of co-casting on audience preferences
Analysis by language indicates that co-casting heavily depends on regional viewing habits. While English accounted for the largest language group in the data, official channels still dominated the watch time. This is largely due to the prevalence of official English broadcasts in major international tournaments, making them the default choice for a global audience.
Similar trends were observed in major Asian markets, where broadcasts in Indonesian, Vietnamese, Tagalog, and Hindi were predominantly led by official streams, underscoring the influence of local official channels in the mobile gaming sector. For organizers, sponsors, and media partners, official channels remained essential for reaching a large local audience.
In contrast, viewers in Russian, Spanish, Turkish, and German markets gravitated towards creator-led content. Russian viewers, for instance, were drawn to prominent Counter-Strike and Dota 2 co-streamers, while Spanish-speaking audiences preferred following individual personalities over official tournament broadcasts.
Other regions exhibited a mix of official and creator-led content. Languages like Korean, Portuguese, Japanese, and French adopted a hybrid model where both official streams and independent creators attracted significant viewership. These patterns suggest that language and regional culture play a key role in predicting co-casting behavior, often overshadowing the influence of the game itself. While co-streamers may enhance event reach in some markets, they serve as the main attraction in others.
Top co-streamers showcase the dominance of creator-led viewing experiences
The top 15 co-streamers collectively amassed over 216 million Hours Watched in the first half of 2026, constituting 27.9% of all community-stream watch time in these games. This highlights the significant impact of a select group of channels in the creator-led space.
Leading the pack by a considerable margin was Marc “Caedrel” Lamont, showcasing the immense influence a single streamer can wield within a competitive community. Russian-language co-streamers also claimed top positions, with channels like Ivan “StRoGo” Shurpatov, Roman “RAMZES” Kushnarev, and Igor “SL4M” Sopov ranking prominently. Their success underscores the significant influence of co-casting in the Russian-language market during this period.
Among these top creators, League of Legends featured prominently across various languages, including English, Korean, Portuguese, French, and Spanish. While Counter-Strike also had a strong presence, it adopted a different approach by distributing its community audience among several high-volume creators rather than relying on a single massive streamer.
Interestingly, the platform diversity extended beyond Twitch. While Twitch remained a popular choice for these top 15 creators, platforms like YouTube, SOOP, and Naver’s HZZK also made significant contributions. This indicates that co-casting has evolved into a multi-platform phenomenon rather than being restricted to a single platform.
As co-casting becomes integral to esports media planning, stakeholders must find improved methods to monitor and capitalize on this split audience. For brands, collaborating with top co-streamers has emerged as a key strategy to engage with viewers who prefer creator-led content over official broadcasts.