As a passionate gamer and avid follower of the gaming industry, I always enjoy making predictions for the upcoming year. From Super Bowl winners to Game of the Year titles, I like to speculate on various aspects of the gaming world. Most of the time, my predictions turn out to be wrong, but sometimes I’m just early to the party.
In late 2021, I made a prediction that IRL (In Real Life) streaming would blow up, and it seems that I was ahead of the curve. With the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns, people were craving a way to experience travel and adventure vicariously through others. And that’s exactly what IRL streaming provided. People started traveling, filming their experiences, and sharing them with an eager audience.
However, as time went on, the popularity of IRL streaming faded, and by 2023, live streaming as a whole experienced a decline. April and May of 2021 marked the peak of live streaming, but it seemed to fall off afterward. Little did I know that 2023 would bring a remarkable resurgence of live streaming.
If you’ve been keeping an eye on popular clips and streamers over the past six months, you’ve probably noticed the revival of live streaming. One of the standout examples is FouseyTUBE, who took IRL streaming to the extreme by live-streaming every second of his daily life. From airports to encounters with law enforcement, he left no stone unturned in his quest to provide unfiltered content to viewers.
What sets these new wave of IRL streamers apart is their willingness to do anything for views. This is a stark contrast to the earlier days of IRL streaming, which lost its edge after legendary streamer Ice Poseidon was banned from Twitch. Platforms began cracking down on excessive behavior and deemed it harmful to those around the streamer. However, the emergence of platforms like Kik.com has breathed new life into the ‘anything for views’ mentality.
There is a subset of IRL streamers who use Kik.com’s more relaxed rules to push boundaries, harass people, and generate attention. It’s both exhilarating and controversial, drawing viewers in with its edginess and unpredictability. While some may argue that this behavior crosses ethical lines, there’s no denying that it has attracted a considerable following in 2023.
As a veteran gamer, it’s fascinating to witness the ebb and flow of live streaming culture. The transition from the early days of IRL streaming to the current ‘anything for views’ trend demonstrates the dynamic nature of the gaming community. Whether you love it or hate it, live streaming is here to stay, and it will continue to evolve in ways we may not even anticipate. So buckle up and get ready for another year of thrilling live streams and unexpected content.