Tom Simons was one of several individuals who became millionaires between 2020 and 2021. Only 17 years old at the time, he did not achieve his wealth through smart investments, but by playing on a Minecraft roleplay server known as the Dream SMP.
The Dream SMP, which lasted from 2020 to 2023 and was live streamed on Twitch and YouTube, became something of an overnight sensation. The server trended daily on Twitter, which had not yet been renamed X, had articles written about it by Wired and Business Insider and even appeared on billboards in New York City’s Times Square.
Simons, better known online by his handle TommyInnit, won a Guinness world record for “most viewers of a Minecraft gameplay live stream on Twitch” after 650,237 viewers tuned into one stream.
Before joining the Dream SMP, his streams only averaged about 600 viewers. Other Dream SMP members similarly skyrocketed in fame, as Toby Smith, also known as Tubbo, reflected, “I went from averaging 100 viewers to averaging 100,000 in about … two months.”
While several factors could have contributed to the Dream SMP’s success, the biggest one was its timing. The year 2020 marked an unprecedented year of growth for Twitch, which has been around since 2011. According to Twitch Tracker, both streamers and viewers nearly doubled from the previous year, with 26.5 million users visiting the site daily and an average of 1.55 billion hours watched per month, a 69 percent increase.
It was not just Minecraft streamers; gamers, artists, models and more all thrived on Twitch. Even Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez streamed herself playing popular multiplayer game “Among Us” in what became one of the most-viewed streams at the time. From leftist creators like Hasan Abi to right-wing influencers like Adin Ross, Twitch had something for everyone.
This sudden influx of Twitch usage in 2020 made sense given the COVID-19 pandemic. Countries around the world enacted lockdown procedures limiting people’s time spent outside, and because of this, movies and television shows had to suspend, delay or cancel production to adhere to the new guidelines. But while the film industry was hit hard, the internet thrived thanks to online creators’ continued ability to create content from home.
Twitch’s live streaming format gave it an additional advantage over other video hosting sites: interaction between streamers and audiences, creating an almost parasocial bond. The word “parasocial” was coined by sociologists in 1956 to describe one-sided relationships, especially between celebrities and their fans. While one may be tempted to label the relationship between streamers and viewers as parasocial, researchers have actually proposed that this relation lies in “a middle position between social and parasocial relations.”
Unlike movies, which offer no interaction between the actors and audience, live streams allow back-and-forth communication via the chat function, with streamers often asking “chat” for direct input. Additional interaction can occur through donations to the streamer, which the streamer can encourage by setting goals to do certain actions on the stream once an amount is reached, giving viewers more ability to affect the course of the stream.
Specific usernames are frequently read aloud, whether to thank someone for a donation or to respond to a message in the chat. These interactions allow streamers to forge relationships with loyal viewers, which in turn provides a much-needed social connection, especially during a lockdown.
Now, it has been five years since the pandemic. Though Twitch’s viewership slightly decreased in 2022, the platform is still going strong, with over 7 million channels going live each month. Many streamers consider Twitch to be their full-time job, and given leaked salaries in 2021, it can be quite lucrative. Following Twitch’s success, competing live streaming platforms were created such as Kick, which is already averaging 110,000 live streams a day.
Of course, live streamers can never replace the film industry, as evident by continued movie releases today. Yet, their cultural impact can be felt even in Hollywood. The 2021 sci-fi movie “Free Guy,” detailing the story of a sentient video game character, featured cameos from popular streamers such as Ninja, Pokimane and Jacksepticeye.
“A Minecraft Movie,” which is coming to theaters this April, did something similar by inviting a group of Minecraft streamers to set in promotion of the film, and Jack Black – who portrays the protagonist Steve – recently appeared on Quackity’s stream to play Minecraft.
There is no doubt that Twitch streamers have redefined the entertainment industry, and that the COVID-19 pandemic had a hand in making this happen.
Reem Fan can be reached at [email protected].
