Why is Escape From Tarkov Such a Good Streaming Game?

Tarkov is a strange anomaly in the gaming universe. For something touted as being so difficult, complicated, and requiring material outside of the game to be successful, you’d think that level of commitment wouldn’t be entertaining to watch, or at the very least, confusing for those tuning in. But surprisingly, the game does well on YouTube and especially on Twitch. There is a dedicated following for this game on the platform and the people who not only play it, but those who watch it are usually long-time veterans of the game. Sure, there are lots of new people who jump into chat and are curious about the game, but for the most part, if you play Tarkov at all, you also will find yourself watching it too. And this game holds its own on the platform. Normally sitting at around 30-50k concurrent viewers. Recently there has been a massive increase in viewership because Tarkov had Twitch drops on, which allowed you to earn in-game items by watching streamers, but we’ll talk more about that later. But my main question around this game and the following it has online, is what makes Tarkov such a compelling and arguably perfect streaming video game? Is it the game itself? The memes? Something else? Let's go over this and see if we can figure out why it works so well on Twitch. And if you are new or returning to the channel, be sure to subscribe for more videos in the future about Tarkov and anything else we can think of.

Tarkov on Twitch has always had some decent following. And only as the game has continued to grow and expand within its own walls, so too has the amount of people interested in the game itself. I would say when Reserve was released and that end of 2019 wipe happened, was when Tarkov really began to grow at an exponential rate. This would’ve been the first time we got Twitch drops, and because it was the first time, what was on the loot table were some powerful items. Good ammos, weapons, cases, you name it. Thing that would tangibly help you out either in the short term, or in a best-case scenario, the long term of that entire wipe. Drops has always gotten people to watch others stream on Twitch. A chance at free loot without so much as opening the game is enticing for anyone who plays. Whether you have a ton of hours and are proficient at the game or are just starting out and don’t know how to fix a heavy bleed. If watching a streamer for a couple hours means you get some free stuff, you’re going to tune in. And oh, do people tune in. There are prominent creators for Tarkov that can break 100k concurrent viewers at one time. Now, to be brutally honest, many of those viewers are not actively watching. They might have the stream open on a second monitor with the tab muted so they are still getting credit for their drop timer. But even still, having six figures for viewers is absolutely nothing to scoff at. Even if it is an isolated incident for a week or however long the drops last for, it’s still a crazy number to see in front of you. And it’s kind of cool to be a part of something that huge on a website. With thousands of people all at the same time watching someone play the game. Granted, sometimes being online for that long can be a little debilitating, but people usually try to do their best to get rest when it’s appropriate. But Twitch drops certainly played an important role in the success of this game online and getting as many eyes on it as possible.

But when the game doesn’t have any special cite-wide events going on, what keeps people watching Tarkov? Well, it’s a combination of the game itself, and the people who play it. If you don’t play Tarkov, there isn’t a ton you need to know to enjoy watching it. Tarkov has a lot of similar traits to that of a battle royale game mode. So, you can jump right into a raid and get a solid viewer experience because you know at the very least, there are guns, other people are on the map, and you are trying to survive and get out of the raid. It’s not something like, say, World of Warcraft where knowing the classes, abilities, and whatever raid is currently going on helps. And it’s also not like Destiny where you need to know what currently is the strongest in either the PvP (player versus player) parts of the game, or the PvE (player versus environment) parts. Obviously, there are weapons and gear that are strong, and those that aren’t. But the beauty of Tarkov which is that almost everything in the game can kill you in one bullet. So, you never truly know what is going to happen in a raid. There is a level of ambiguity and randomness that can’t be replicated by any other game or genre. So, every raid can be interesting. But it’s not just the game that makes a successful stream. It’s the people behind it.

A stream is only as entertaining as the person running it. And luckily in the Tarkov category, there are tons of wonderful people who are playing and just hanging out with their respective chats. There are too many names to list, but I mean, you can scroll down the category and there are lots of awesome folks playing the game and having fun. And Tarkov allows for that because the lulls in fights and combat, you can just hang out and vibe with the people watching you. Tarkov really allows for moments that feel like just chatting streams, with a video game in the background. Now the downside to that is the person playing might not be looking at the game and die because of it, but that just means you’re going to see LOL’s and KEKW emotes in the chat, which means the people watching are having a good time. And at the end of the day, for a good stream, that’s all that matters now, isn’t it?

I dabbled with my own stream last year for a time. Just playing the game and leveling up. Now, because I am still a small fry on YouTube, I basically don’t exist on Twitch, even though I have my own channel, which I will link in the description if you feel inclined to give it a follow, but no pressure. And even when I had 0 viewers, the entire experience is very different from just playing the game. I found myself pretty much just narrating everything I am doing and why I’m doing it. Which if you’ve watched any of the videos I’ve made where I play full Tarkov raids, it’s very much the same thing. But whenever I did have a couple people in the chat, hanging out and asking questions, it’s a great feeling. Even over the internet, talking to others and all engaging with a form of medium is cool. It’s nice when more people are around and you can interact with more people in general, but to be honest those two or three individuals really give you that extra gear to keep doing it and sometimes for longer. Because it’s lonely streaming to 0 viewers and it can really take the wind out of your sails. Even if you’re doing it just because it’s fun and aren’t looking to make a career out of it or anything. But anyone that hangs out even for just a little bit and talks in chat, man that can literally make your day. It’s such a cool experience. And Tarkov allows for plenty of those conversations to happen, despite being a first-person shooter. Whether you’re in the stash, loading in, or already in a raid, Tarkov may not always top the charts for total viewership in Twitch, but the people that do indulge always have a good time.

Tarkov might be one of the best games to stream, no matter what the platform is. There are low moments where you can have plenty of conversations with others. And then suddenly, you get into a firefight and people are cheering you on, and laughing when you die. It’s a good time. And if you happen to go on a death streak and lose a bunch of kits and money, all it takes is one funny comment from the chat, and you can be put back into good spirits. There are so many wonderful games worth streaming and watching. But to me, Tarkov will stand as an anomaly both in the industry as to how an obtuse game can become so popular to play, and how it can be shared with hundreds of thousands of people across the world; collectively sharing the moment you finish a tough quest. Or finally get your Kappa container. Thank you very much for taking the time out of your day to watch this video. Let me know in the comments your thoughts on Tarkov as both a game to stream, and a game to watch as a viewer and be sure to subscribe for more videos about how such a weird game became so popular online. I hope to see you in future ones.