Building viewer engagement through interaction rituals on Twitch.tv

The expanding gaming industry now includes a large group of consumers who watch others play games. On Twitch.tv - the leading platform for gameplay streaming - influencers livestream themselves playing games while viewers watch and interact with them. Previous research suggests that social interaction may be critical for a successful stream but has not studied gameplay streams as Interaction Rituals, a model describing how interaction lead to social motivation. Analysis of four gameplay streams shows how the streamer, through inclusion strategies and active viewer participation, promote viewer engagement in a way that resembles the mechanisms of offline Interaction Rituals. The model, therefore, appears to be useful for understanding how successful gameplay streams draw a returning audience through producing positive social emotions and parasocial attachment to the group.

Automated summary

The study analyzed four gameplay streams and examined how streamers promote viewer engagement through inclusive strategies and active viewer participation, resembling the mechanisms of offline Interaction Rituals. This model is useful for understanding how successful gameplay streams attract a returning audience by generating positive social emotions and parasocial attachment to the streamer.