Twitch posts best month of 2026 and its CEO credits clips: “You know it's not AI”
August reached 1.56 billion hours watched, up 7% from 2025, according to Streams Charts data.
Foto: Stuart C. Wilson/Getty ImagesTwitch had its best month of 2026 in August, with 1.56 billion hours watched, a 7% increase over August 2025, according to Streams Charts data compiled by analyst Zach Bussey and reported by Tubefilter.
CEO Dan Clancy links the growth directly to short clips shared on other platforms. He says clips create excitement about livestreaming that did not exist a few years ago and work precisely because they feel authentic: a Twitch clip is messy and noisy, so viewers know it is not AI.
Since 2024, Twitch has made it easier to share clips to YouTube Shorts, TikTok and Reels, using short-form video as a gateway to full streams. Clancy argues that live streaming builds real connection between people, something endless scrolling does not.
