Cumulative viewing time for Japanese esports tournaments reached 1.96 billion minutes between July and September 2023, an 11% increase from 2022, according to [PLAYDATA]
RTA and Street Fighter 6 are at the forefront of growth in the sector. The total watch time for Street Fighter 6 has exceeded 200 million minutes, translating into a 22% boost from the previous quarter, with the total viewing share for fighting games now at 13%.
The various Street Fighter 6 esports events, including “Street Fighter League: Pro-JP 2023,” “TGS2023×CR Cup,” and the “CAPCOM Pro Tour 2023 World Warrior Japan Tournament,” made a significant impact, allowing the title to secure six spots in the top 20 events for cumulative viewing times.
In the past, we offered insights based on viewership data from domestic esports broadcasts collected through the “TAIYORO” esports tournament calendar site (https://taiyoro.gg/). Moving forward, these insights will now be shared through “PLAYDATA,” our esports data analysis platform launched in May 2023.
Summary for July-September 2023
Cumulative Viewing Time statistics reveal that “VALORANT’s” popularity remains strong, with “RTA” ranking second.
The “VALORANT Champions Tour 2023 Champions” and “VCT LAST CHANCE QUALIFIER PACIFIC” contributed significantly to making VALORANT take the lead on games’ popularity ranking. With the sum of its events accounting for around 600 million out of the total 1.96 billion minutes of domestic viewership, VALORANT represents nearly a third of the total viewing time. Despite a 17% decrease from the 700 million minutes recorded in the same timeframe in 2022, VALORANT's appeal is evidently still strong.
Notably, the “VCT LAST CHANCE QUALIFIER PACIFIC” Grand Finals match on July 23rd between “ZETA DIVISION” and “Team Secret” attracted over 90,000 peak concurrent viewers on Twitch, making the game title claim the top 6 positions of Twitch's game category live streaming rankings and garnering significant viewership.
Donut chart of total hours watched by game
“RTA (Real Time Attack)” secured the second spot, with the “RTA in Japan Summer 2023” event, which took place from August 10th to August 15th, 2023, breaking through the 400 million minute mark in total viewership. The peak occurred during a time attack challenge in Super Mario 64, where four record-holding players competed simultaneously, drawing in simultaneously over 100,000 viewers and generating substantial buzz.
“Street Fighter 6” cements its popularity in the esports scene
The launch of “Street Fighter 6” on June 2nd, 2023 led to an uptick in esports events related to the game, with the ranking of six “Street Fighter 6” events into the top 20 for overall viewing time.
Total viewing time ranking by event
The events contributing to these statistics are the following:
Street Fighter League: Pro-JP 2023 (July 7, 2023 - November 28, 2023)
In 2023, the tournament held for “Street Fighter 6” experienced a notable surge in peak concurrent viewership on the “Capcom Fighters JP” official channel, achieving over twice the viewer count compared to the tournament for “Street Fighter V” from the same timeframe the previous year.
Maximum number of simultaneous viewers for Street Fighter League Pro-JP (sum of multiple distribution channels)
TGS2023×CR CUP Street Fighter 6 (September 23-24, 2023)
The “Tokyo Game Show 2023” marked a successful return to a full-scale event after several years of pause. One of the main stage highlight was the organization of an offline by the professional gaming team “Crazy Raccoon,” which ranked 12th in the cumulative viewing time rankings thanks to its 30 million minutes of watch time and 80,000 peak concurrent viewers. This success marks the continuity of the popularity for the Crazy Raccoon-hosted streamer events, a trend already noticeable from the previous quarter.
CAPCOM Pro Tour 2023 World Warrior Japan Tournament (August 19 - November 18, 2023)
This “Street Fighter 6” esports event, during which teams competed for a spot in the “CAPCOM CUP X,” was held exclusively in Japan. It ranked 18th in cumulative viewing time, with over 14 million minutes watched and peak concurrent viewership exceeding 30,000.
In addition to these events, “STREET FIGHTER 6 Battle Hub Party!”, “Red Bull Kumite 2023,” and “REJECT FIGHT NIGHT Round2” ranked in the top 20 for cumulative viewing time.
“LJL” sees a significant increase in viewership with its first offline tournament in four years
The “League of Legends” domestic competition, “LJL 2023 Summer Split Finals,” took place offline at the Makuhari Messe Event Hall on August 20, 2023. This event achieved a significant milestone with drawing in more than 88,000 peak concurrent viewers, which represents a 70% surge from the “LJL 2022 Summer Split Finals” conducted online the previous year. A contributing factor to this uptick was the organization of watch parties by well-known streamers, which, along with the live event, drew in a vast audience.
Maximum number of simultaneous viewers for LJL Summer Split Finals (total of multiple distribution channels)
