What’s Next for Streaming in 2025?
The livestreaming and content creation space is evolving faster than ever, and 2025 is shaping up to be a year of big changes. From platform innovations to creator-driven trends, the industry is poised for some exciting (and maybe a little chaotic) shifts.
In this newsletter, I’m sharing my top 25 predictions for 2025—the trends, tools, and transformations I believe will shape the future of streaming and content creation. Whether you’re a Twitch streamer, a YouTube creator, or just someone who loves following the industry, there’s something here for you. Let’s dive in!
1. Dual-Format Streaming Becomes Industry Standard
By the end of 2025, dual-format streaming—broadcasting in both vertical and horizontal formats simultaneously—will become the industry standard. Platforms will prioritize mobile-first discoverability, with vertical streams hooking viewers and leading them seamlessly to full desktop streams.
This shift will be driven by TikTok’s influence on short-form video and the ongoing dominance of mobile viewing habits, forcing platforms like Twitch and YouTube to adapt.
2. IRL Streams Will Reach Unprecedented Popularity
IRL streams will dominate livestreaming in 2025, fueled by better mobile tech, 5G connectivity, and more immersive experiences. Creators will push boundaries with live travel, outdoor adventures, and real-time events.
Audiences love the raw, unpredictable nature of IRL content, and the technology is finally catching up to the format’s potential.
3. Twitch Will Go All-In on Collaboration
In 2025, Twitch’s Guest Star feature will finally become a useful tool for creators. Twitch will bundle all their collaboration-focused features into the tool and heavily promote the discoverability of any streamers using it to ensure its success.
Is that a good thing? I don’t know. But if 2024 taught us anything, it’s that Dan Clancy will not give up on collaboration being Twitch’s key USP.
4. Crowdfunding Becomes a Primary Revenue Stream for Creators
By the end of 2025, crowdfunding platforms like Patreon and Ko-fi will become a primary revenue stream for creators. With ad revenue becoming increasingly unpredictable, creators will lean on direct community support to sustain their careers.
I predict that more creators will put exclusive content behind these paywalls, similar to the creators behind the yard podcast which is generating over $230,000 a month.
5. AI-Generated Content Will Face a Major Backlash
In 2025, audiences will reject AI-generated content in favor of raw, opinion-based videos from real creators. As platforms become flooded with algorithm-driven, overly polished content, viewers will crave authenticity.
Creators who lean into unscripted, human-first content will thrive, standing out in a sea of AI sameness.
6. Content Will Shift Toward Longform
Audiences will grow tired of the lack of depth in super-short-form content and shift their attention to longform videos and streams (1+ hours). Creators who focus on storytelling, in-depth discussions, or immersive experiences will see significant growth as viewers consume content on TVs or listen in the background while working out, commuting, or doing chores.
The rise of longform content will be driven by a desire for more meaningful engagement and the growing trend of treating livestreams and podcasts as “second-screen” entertainment.
7. Multistreaming Will Grow but Remain Difficult to Scale
Multistreaming will gain more traction in 2025 as creators seek to expand their reach across platforms like Twitch, YouTube, and TikTok. However, only a small percentage of creators will make it work effectively on a larger scale.
While recently released tools make multistreaming easier, building cohesive communities across multiple platforms will remain a major challenge. Many creators will continue to find that focusing on one platform yields better results.
8. Community-Driven Content Will Take Center Stage
Creators will increasingly involve their audiences in decision-making for content themes, goals, and even charity initiatives in 2025. Features like voting polls, interactive overlays, and community challenges will become standard.
Viewers crave a sense of ownership in the content they consume, and creators who embrace this trend will foster deeper loyalty. This interactive approach will also drive higher engagement and monetization.
9. A Major Creator Will Quit Over AI Copycats
In 2025, a high-profile creator will dramatically quit the industry after their content style or persona is replicated by AI tools. This will reignite debates about intellectual property and the ethics of AI-generated content.
As AI becomes more accessible, copycat content will flood platforms, frustrating original creators. This incident will push platforms to reconsider how they regulate and protect creator-owned content.
10. IRL Streams Will Face Event Crackdowns
Events organizers, possibly even governments, will introduce stricter regulations on IRL streaming in 2025, targeting privacy violations, trespassing, and public disturbances. Some events will require permits for certain types of IRL content, while others will impose fines for those breaking the rules.
11. Big Creators Will Build Production Teams
In 2025, big creators will increasingly rely on teams or agencies to handle idea generation, set design, and real-time editing. Real-time editors will become invaluable, cutting up livestreams into clips and highlights to post on social channels within minutes of them happening on stream.
This shift will allow creators to focus on the content itself while maximizing their reach across platforms. The speed and efficiency of same-day content repurposing will become a critical advantage in staying relevant and competitive.
12. A Major Manufacturer Will Release a Streamer-Focused Laptop
In 2025, a major PC manufacturer will launch a streamer-focused laptop (probably named something dumb like the “Streamer ProX”) with features like integrated OBS software, audio mixing tools, and a built-in Stream Deck-like macro board. It will flop.
13. YouTube Expands Livestreaming Features
YouTube will finally step up its livestreaming game in 2025 after a quiet 2024. The platform will roll out better chat tools, improved discoverability for live streams, a better layout, and new monetization options. The focus (and spend) will be on developing features rather than signing streamers exclusively.
14. Kick’s Growth Will Plateau
Kick’s explosive growth will stall in 2025 as exclusivity contracts expire and creators reassess their options. The platform will have a hard time figuring out what it wants to be, which will cause a slowdown in new creators joining and audience growth. I’d love to be wrong here as more competing platforms is only a good thing for streamers and viewers.
15. TikTok Launches a “Creator Merch Hub” for Custom Products
TikTok will introduce a Creator Merch Hub in 2025, allowing creators to design, manufacture, and sell custom products directly through the app. This feature will go beyond TikTok Shop by offering end-to-end solutions for branded merchandise, from design templates to inventory management.
If it succeeds, Twitch and Amazon will scramble to release an unfinished competitor.
16. LinkedIn Livestreaming Will Finally Find Its Niche
LinkedIn will establish itself as the go-to platform for livestreamed professional events in 2025. The platform will focus on webinars, live Q&A sessions, and industry-specific content, carving out a unique space in the livestreaming ecosystem.
Creators will use LinkedIn to host career workshops, portfolio reviews, and virtual networking events, aligning with the platform’s push to become more than just a job board.
17. VTubing Will Explode with New Tech Innovations
The VTuber space will see unprecedented growth in 2025, driven by affordable motion-capture suits and advanced VR tools that make it easier than ever to create high-quality virtual personas.
VTubing has already proven its staying power, and as the barriers to entry lower, more creators will adopt virtual avatars to stand out in a crowded market.
18. Live Creators Will Copy Successful TV Formats
In 2025, livestreamers will embrace gameshow formats, cliffhangers, and structured seasons to further emulate formats that have worked previously on traditional television.
These formats will thrive in categories like D&D campaigns, gaming challenges, and even IRL reality-style streams, creating deeper audience loyalty and anticipation.
19. Logitech Will Release the Blue Yeti 2
In 2025, Logitech will finally retire the iconic Blue Yeti and launch a next-generation model. The new Yeti will for no good reason retain its signature 4 polar patterns but introduce updated features like USB-C connectivity and improved audio quality—though, of course, people will still speak into the top.
20. Mainstream Celebrities Will Flood the Creator Economy
More politicians, athletes, musicians, and actors will jump into creating personal YouTube channels in 2025. Initially, these efforts will feel agency-driven and overly polished, but the ones that succeed will adopt a more personal, “just me and my camera showing you behind the scenes of my life” style.
Celebrities will realize that creating content offers a direct connection to fans—and a way to stay relevant while controlling the narrative that traditional media doesn’t offer.
21. Twitch Will Double Down on AI Moderation
Twitch will lean heavily on AI moderation in 2025, but it won’t be without issues. False bans and over-policing will frustrate creators, especially smaller streamers without direct Twitch support. If Twitch doesn’t balance AI with human oversight, expect a wave of creator complaints.
22. Twitch Will Partner with a Major Sports League for Exclusive Streaming Rights
Twitch will announce an exclusive partnership with a forward thinking sports league in 2025, making it the go-to platform for watching reaction style streams for that league.
23. Gaming Will Stay King, but Variety Content Will Surge
Gaming will remain the most dominant category on Twitch and other platforms in 2025, but variety content like cooking, fitness, and lifestyle streams will grow significantly. Creators will experiment with hybrid formats collaborating with experts in other niches than gaming.
24. The Creator Economy Will Continue to Expand
Despite economic challenges, the creator economy will grow even larger in 2025, with more people turning content creation into a full-time career. Platforms will introduce new monetization options, and creators will diversify their income streams through merch, crowdfunding, and sponsorships.
The barriers to entry for content creation are lower than ever, and audiences are spending more time online. This combination will fuel the rise of new creators across all niches.
25. Gaming Careers Will Return to Making Videos
I’m ready. Big things are coming in 2025.
And there you have it—25 predictions for 2025! I’ll be revisiting these at the end of the year to see how many I got right (and how many I completely missed the mark on).
Here’s to a year of growth, creativity, and exciting opportunities for all of us in the livestreaming and content creation world. Wishing you a successful and inspiring start to 2025—let’s make it a great one!
