What game should I stream? How do I target a certain audience? Why do I lose viewers and followers when I change games? These three questions are commonly asked as a streamer. Here is some advice to those questions.

How do you know what games will bring in the most views? There are a couple ways to do this. First off I would take a look at the Steam Store and then look at the “New Releases”. Upon looking at this list, pick out a game that looks like your flavor and something you’d think you would enjoy. For me I like indie simulation games and pixilated adventure games like Terraria and Minecraft, these games target a specific audience so if you make a drastic change from one of these types of games to something like, let’s say Call of Duty, you are going to lose viewers UNLESS you have people who watch you for you.

If you have noticed, each game genre comes with a different attitude of viewers. MOBAs like League of Legends or DoTA2 tend to have sour, mean and short tempered viewers who are VERY opinionated and think they are right 95% of the time. Same goes for games like Halo, Battlefield and Call of Duty. However, indie games and tycoon/simulation games have a more relaxed audience since these games are usually way under the radar compared to main titles. Think about what kind of vibe you want your channel to have before you pick a game, do you want a huge group of trolls (people who give everyone a hard time) or do you want a group of respectful viewers? Your tastes and opinions are different than the ones in this article and that is 100% okay, this is what makes your stream special and different from someone else.

Losing viewers and followers (even subscribers) is something EVERY Twitch.tv streamer puts up with. Whenever you change a game, be prepared to lose 10% to 20% of your viewer base. Yes that is a horrible thing but you may also double your current viewer base going to a new game. This is a vicious cycle that will take place throughout your entire career as a streamer; you will lose about 15% of your viewers and then gain 10% to 40% of your viewers. This is how you build a fan base and a following, being a good streamer means knowing when a game is “burning you out” and you need to change before you get tired of playing a game and your mood changes. Do not be afraid to change games, play what you feel is right and fun, the viewers will watch you for you.