Valorant beats CSGO as the most-watched game in 2022

Fariha Bhatti Published 03/01/2023

The Counter-Strike: Global Offensive versus Valorant discussions had (thankfully) died down, but stats have stirred gossip, showing that Riot’s FPS was better than Valve’s in viewership.

You can’t have two kings in the same territory. CSGO and Valorant have proven that. The fan wars are as old as Valorant itself. Since 2020, keyboard warriors have been defending their favorite FPS game. Is it Valorant or CSGO? The debate never settled. But, these arguments had slowed down until Sullygnome rolled out a list of the most watched games in 2022.

Despite being an older and legendary title, CSGO’s fanbase came short compared to Valorant. Here’s what the stats precisely say.

Just Chatting was the most watched category on Twitch. But, in the video game category, Riot leads the charge with League of Legends, followed by Grand Theft Auto V. Safe to say 2022 was a good year for Riot Games!

Valorant beats CSGO in 2022 viewership

Riot lifted the curtain on its FPS experiment in 2020, featuring emotive characters with powers. It wagged tongues, but Valorant was instantly successful, at least popularity-wise. While the hype around Valorant eventually defused, it remained a solid competitor to CSGO, the game that has ruled the FPS genre for over a decade.

According to Sullygnome, Valorant was the most-watched FPS game on Twitch in 2023, with 1,197,406 peak viewers. An average of +4,000 channels streamer Valorant, roping viewers from all over the world. Fans tuned in to Riot’s official channel and streamers to watch the game throughout 2022, beating the likes of Apex Legends, Elden Ring, Fortnite, and more.

The numbers are exceptional, considering 2022 was crammed with hit titles. However, like always, Valorant’s actual competition was CSGO. Since 2012, Valve’s labor of love has dominated the shooter genre, especially with esports. Even if casual streamers don’t tally big numbers, an abundance of CSGO tournaments draws out fans from nooks around the globe. But, in 2022, Valorant had a similar approach.

Why is Valorant so popular in 2023?

Riot’s third-party off-season for Valorant tournaments contributed tons to the boosted interest and viewership. The latter half of 2022 was all about organizers whipping up their own events worldwide to bring underrated talent to the fore. These matches were streamed on Twitch, YouTube, and more to drive attention toward the young stars.

Valorant viewership was the highest in September when VCT circuit finals were in full swing. About 831,550 viewers tuned in to watch some of the best teams lock horns for the coveted golden trophy. Another spike was observed in November during VCT Game Changers, which was laden with controversy but had exemplary gameplay to offer.

Overall, Valorant was a treat to watch in 2022, and stats show for it. CSGO was lagging behind with 699,783,949 watch hours at number five. The gap between the two games isn’t big enough, at least in peak viewers, but Valorant’s watch hours look tough to surmount for Valve’s shooter in 2023.

Fariha Bhatti

About Fariha Bhatti

Fariha Bhatti is a long-time gaming writer who loves competitive FPS games and slots with particularly fun themes. She got her start playing classic games developed by SNK, from legendary fighting game series The King of Fighters to challenging platform franchise Metal Slug. She now spends most of her time playing Valorant and Counter-Strike 2 while working her way through new slot releases to find her next favorite. Fariha has been published at PCGamesN, TalkEsport and ONE Esports.

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