The Game Awards Breaks Their Own Record With 2021 Viewership

Year after year, the Game Awards have shattered their own records, and the 2021 show was no exception. The Game Awards 2020 set a new record with over 83 million viewers last year, and this year's ceremony is expected to draw an estimated 85 million spectators via "global livestreams." This year's event, like past award events, was live-streamed on more than 30 digital networks around the world, including YouTube, Twitch, Twitter, Facebook and TikTok.

“On Twitter, The Game Awards delivered a record-setting 1.6 million tweets about the event in 2021, its best-ever performance,” a press release reads. “The show trended #1 worldwide for the 8th year in a row, commanding 11 out of the top 30 worldwide trends at the peak of conversation.” 

On YouTube, the primary Game Awards stream, which does not feature co-streams, set a new record for watch time with over 1.75 million hours viewed. This is a 14% increase over last year's show. Fan voting climbed by 27% year over year to over 23.2 million votes.

“We are grateful we could return to an in-person ceremony in 2021 and continue to build on our success with significant international growth in 2021,” The Game Awards producer and host, Geoff Keighley, said. 

For more context about this year’s record-breaking 85 million livestream numbers, here’s a look at the numbers for previous years: 

• 2021: 85 million
• 2020: 83 million
• 2019: 45.2 million
• 2018: 26.2 million
• 2017: 11.5 million
• 2016: 3.8 million
• 2015: 2.3 million
• 2014: 1.9 million