Ludwig Shares Monthly Income, Including Sponsorship Revenue
Having started out as a gaming streamer, Ludwig Ahgren has since grown massively in prominence and established himself as an all-round streamer on Twitch. He has now lifted the lid on his monthly earnings, and his viewers were surprised by how much sponsorships contribute to his monthly income.
American streamer Ludwig became known for his Super Smash Bros. content, and he has since started hosting events for the game, where gaming creators compete against each other. The creator has been in the industry since 2018 and has since expanded his content to include Just Chatting, reactions, and even IRL content. Ludwig was announced as one of the professors for Streamer University 2026, and during the event he showed his June 2026 earnings to his class.
Ludwig reveals that sponsorships make up for roughly 70% of his monthly earnings
Many viewers assume that streamers earn their money by streaming on livestreaming platforms. This may be true for several content creators, but Ludwig recently showed off how much he earned in June 2026. The content creator’s monthly earnings are made up of merch sales, YouTube and Twitch income, and sponsorships. Several brands sponsor Ludwig, including Rebel Athlete, AT&T, and Alienware. The streamer revealed that his income from sponsorships alone was $800,000, which was the primary contributor to his total June revenue.
Image credit: Ludwig
Ludwig stated that he doesn’t want to be “viewer-funded,” and has pivoted to a model where most of his money comes from sponsors. He elaborated that he did a subathon in 2021 and held the all-time subscriber record on Twitch, but didn’t feel good taking money from viewers despite being a multi-millionaire. Ludwig’s June 2026 earnings also include $7,800 from merch and $270,000 and $57,600 from YouTube and Twitch, respectively. This brings Ludwig’s total June earnings to $1,135,400. The streamer explained that his Twitch revenue was smaller because he runs about six minutes of ads an hour and has only 9,500 subscribers.
Ludwig also shared the month’s expenses, with paying 15 employees $225,000 being the largest overhead. $55,000 was spent on travel, $69,000 on events, and $10,000 for marketing. This brings the expenses for June 2026 $359,000, so the streamer’s net earnings were roughly $776,400. Ludwig’s earnings breakdown highlights that sponsorships have become a major factor in streamers’ earnings, and brands can pay creators substantially more than livestreaming platforms do for performance.
Our analysis: Sponsorships are increasingly valuable for streamers
Sponsorships are nothing new in the streaming industry, as brands pay content creators to market their products or services on streams. A good example of this is that Streamer University 2026 is sponsored by Red Bull, and the drink company has put fridges with its branding and products that are visible during broadcasts. This is a mutually beneficial thing, as Kai Cenat was likely renumerated substantially, and Red Bull can easily market its product in the viral event.
Streamers also earn from brands in the same way, and Ludwig’s earnings have displayed the potential of sponsorships. Several creators try to get sponsored but are unsure how to start, and the first step should be building themselves as a brand. Sponsors typically approach creators who have a decent following or viewership and are also authentic. This is likely to be the way that the streaming industry more generally is heading, with creators relying on sponsorships for as their main source of income.
Feature image credit: Ludwig
Khizar Mundia has been playing video games for as long as he can recall. Things have come a long way since the many days he spent playing the original NES, though. He now covers a variety of competitive games and esports, as well as the world of streaming, ranging from Twitch to Kick. If it’s of interest to gamers, it’s of interest to Khizar.
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