Counter-Strike Twitch Viewership Thrived in 2025 as Other Leading Esports Struggled

Counter-Strike 2 emerged as one of Twitch’s biggest success stories of 2025, standing out in a year where many of esports’ most established titles saw sharp declines across almost every major viewership metric.

Counter-Strike accumulated 770 million hours watched in 2025, representing a 15.3% year-on-year increase. That growth is a stark contrast compared to other top esports on the platform, which experienced significant drops in watch time and average viewership, according to stats from SullyGnome.

Counter-Strike Defies Esports Viewership Downturn

While rivals struggled to hold attention, Counter-Strike thrived throughout the year. Stream time increased by 24.1% to over 13.1 million hours. Average viewership also climbed by 15.3%, reaching nearly 88,000 average viewers.

The contrast with League of Legends was significant. While it did have more hours watched than CS, LoL ended the year with 1.02 billion hours watched, a 19% decrease year-over-year. Stream time also decreased by 23.5%, while peak channels dropped by 58%.

Valorant’s numbers declined even more sharply. Riot’s tactical shooter recorded a 30.9% drop in watch time, with average viewership falling to 68,641. Stream time and peak viewers also declined heavily, in what will be a disappointing set of data for Riot.

Dota 2 and Fortnite Continue to Slide

Dota 2’s downturn was less dramatic but still noticeable. Total watch time dropped 9.8%, with reductions across peak channels and average viewers suggesting further consolidation around major tournaments.

Fortnite remained one of Twitch’s most-streamed titles by broadcast hours, but that volume did not translate into audience growth. Watch time decreased by 26.6%, the average viewership dropped below 53,000, and peak channels experienced a sharp decline.

Counter-Strike’s 2025 performance, although not directly linked to esports, does demonstrate the game’s health compared to its competitors. A consistent competitive calendar, evergreen gameplay, and strong creator engagement helped the title weather an otherwise difficult year for esports games viewership.