BlueSky Thinking Summary

The research looks at just how much value Twitch sponsored livestreams bring as a marketing strategy for video games.

Despite aggressive investments by the likes of Electronic Arts and Activision Blizzard, according to research by Ilya Morozov and Yufeng Huang, in most cases, the nirvana promised by streamed sponsorship could not stand up to its high price.

The analysis of several months of data from top streamers on Twitch found that while the non-sponsored, organic streams might mildly bump up game engagement—by about 3 percent—sponsored streams generally returned a negative investment.

The median return on investment was actually -95%.

Exceptions do include lesser-known games or critically acclaimed titles where the sponsored streams did have positive impacts.

These findings challenge the common perception that influencer marketing on Twitch universally drives substantial sales and player engagement, warning companies to reassess strategies based on actual ROI rather than by implying anecdotal success stories.

This study underlines complexities and uncertainties in the effectiveness of influencer marketing within digital entertainment platforms like Twitch.