Undoubtedly one of the biggest titles of the year, God of War Ragnarok launched this week to massive critical and commercial success. As the fifth mainline title in the storied God of War franchise and a direct sequel to PlayStation’s best-selling game of all time, God of War (2018), the anticipation and excitement for Ragnarok was palpable and translated into a huge launch on the streaming platform, Twitch. With 478,014 concurrent viewers tuning in to watch Kratos and Atreus embark on their newest journey on launch day, God of War Ragnarok is the second largest Twitch debut for a PlayStation Studios title of all time, behind Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us Part II. Here’s how Santa Monica Studio’s latest game fits into the rankings of first-party PlayStation launch viewership on Twitch:
- The Last of Us II (508,051)
- God of War Ragnarok (478,014)
- Ghost of Tsushima (315,594)
- God of War 2018 (292,083)
- Death Stranding (291,098)
- Detroit: Become Human (236,940)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man (233,620)
- Horizon Forbidden West (224,509)
- Demon’s Souls Remake (224,012)
- Returnal (174,223)
As of today, God of War Ragnarok is the fourth most-watched game of the week on the usually multiplayer-dominated Twitch charts with a whopping 19,607,583 hours watched since its release. Only juggernauts League of Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and Grand Theft Auto V currently rank above PlayStation’s new title. Astoundingly, God of War Ragnarok currently ranks above Activision’s late October release Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (2022), the latest competitive first-person shooter in one of media’s biggest franchises that’s also available on Xbox and PC, as opposed to Ragnarok being PS4 and PS5 exclusive. Exclusivity is likely a factor in God of War Ragnarok‘s Twitch success, with gamers on platforms where the game isn’t available tuning in to get an idea of the quality of the game or to experience the story by watching the plot rather than playing through it.
