🎥 Livestreaming Update — August 2025
This week in livestreaming has been marked by both tragedy and triumph. The community is reeling from the heartbreaking death of French streamer Jean Pormanove, whose story has sparked urgent conversations about safety, moderation, and accountability across platforms. At the same time, the industry continues to break records—from Gamescom 2025’s historic viewership to Battlefield 6’s explosive beta success—underscoring the immense growth and global reach of livestreaming.
Tragic Death of French Streamer Jean Pormanove
In a heartbreaking incident that has shaken the livestreaming community, French streamer Jean Pormanove (real name Raphaël Graven) died during a live broadcast on Kick on the night of August 17-18, 2025. Pormanove had been subjected to months of harassment, humiliation, and physical abuse by his streaming partners, "Naruto" (Owen Cenazandotti) and "Safine," which was broadcast live to viewers. The stream, hosted from his home near Nice, France, captured the events leading to his death, prompting a judicial investigation by the Nice public prosecutor's office.
Kick, the Australian-based platform, responded swiftly by banning all co-streamers involved pending the legal probe and terminating its collaboration with a former French social media agency. The company also announced a comprehensive review of its French-language content and updated its guidelines, including adding a report button for rule violations and new regulations on staff involvement in high-risk streams. This tragedy has raised serious questions about platform moderation, especially for IRL (In Real Life) content, with some streamers considering leaving Kick amid backlash.
Australia's eSafety Commissioner is also examining the incident, given Kick's origins in the country, highlighting potential global regulatory implications for livestreaming safety. Industry analysts note this could lead to broader consequences for livestreaming, emphasizing the need for stronger safeguards against abuse. Pormanove was Kick's most-watched French streamer in 2025, making his loss particularly felt in the community.
🎮 Gamescom 2025 - Record Breaking Viewership:
Kicks Off with Record-Breaking ViewershipGamescom 2025 in Cologne, Germany, started strong with its Opening Night Live event, hosted by Geoff Keighley, achieving unprecedented livestream success. The showcase surpassed 2 million peak concurrent viewers for the first time—a 60% increase from last year—driven by major announcements like the world premiere of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 and Black Myth: Wukong.
Viewership averaged 1.8 million across over 1,100 channels, with strong co-streaming activity boosting engagement. Languages like English, Spanish, German, French, and Russian all hit six-figure peaks, reflecting the event's global appeal. Platforms including Twitch, YouTube, and Kick saw heavy traffic, underscoring gaming's dominance in livestreaming. This sets a high bar for the rest of the convention, running through August 25.
Battlefield 6 Open Beta - Twitch & Steam Dominate:
Twitch and Steam Dominate The Battlefield 6 (BF6) open beta in August 2025 (Aug 7-10 & 14-17) shattered records, drawing 521,000 concurrent Steam players and nearly 900,000 Twitch viewers at peak. Outpacing Call of Duty betas, it highlighted the franchise's revival with destructible environments, new modes, and community challenges like $1T in-game destruction for rewards.
BF6's success reignites FPS rivalries, with analysts forecasting 15M+ sales at Oct 10 launch.
Twitch Highlights
Peak Viewers: 898,900 on Day 1; series high.
Hours Watched: 12.2M on launch day alone.
Channels: 42,500+ streaming, topping charts instantly. Streamers like TimTheTatman amplified hype, with X buzz from creators sharing stats.
Steam Milestones
Peak Players: 521,079 (Aug 9), beating CoD's record; 18th all-time on Steam.
Total Participants: Est. 20M+ across platforms.
Preorders/Wishlists: 605K preorders, 2.7M wishlists, generating $35M. Anti-cheat banned 336K+ cheaters mid-beta, ensuring fair play.
Rampage Son's Savage Beatdown: Communuity Outraged
In a shocking assault at KnokX Pro Academy in Sun Valley, Los Angeles, on August 24, 2025, 25-year-old Raja Jackson—son of UFC Hall of Famer Quinton "Rampage" Jackson—entered the ring uninvited and punched unconscious wrestler Stuart "Syko Stu" Smith over 20 times, as seen in viral footage, leaving him with broken facial bones, lost teeth, and amnesia. The attack, stopped by bystander Doug Malo who claims it was premeditated with involvement from wrestler AJ Mana, prompted a GoFundMe raising funds for Smith's recovery.
LAPD arrested Jackson on August 25 amid an ongoing investigation into assault and battery charges, linked to prior threats on a Kick live stream that has sparked platform moderation debates. Quinton Jackson apologized publicly, denying condoning the act, while Raja showed no remorse in a livestream, blaming others; the MMA and wrestling communities condemned the violence, with KnokX Pro alleging non-cooperation from management and highlighting accountability issues in combat sports.
📊 Livestreaming Platforms - Q2 2025 Snapshot
Kick's Momentum: Kick entered the "Big Four" (with YouTube, Twitch, TikTok) in Q2, achieving 1.1B hours watched (+28.1% from Q1). Gaming, led by GTA V, dominates views, but looser moderation faces scrutiny post-recent events.
YouTube's Dominance: YouTube Live set a May record with 5.15B hours watched and 18.94M peak viewers, driven by esports (e.g., League of Legends) and events. CazéTV topped sports with a 5.56M peak for FIFA Club World Cup.
Twitch Trends: Despite a minor market share dip, Twitch excels in diverse content. Streamers like Gaules simulcast to YouTube for reach (e.g., BLAST.tv Austin Major). Global industry watch time stable at 29.61B hours in Q2.
Other Platforms: TikTok Live surpassed Twitch in Q1 hours watched. Niche platforms like SOOP Korea and CHZZK fluctuated with esports; SteamTV grew 93% in Q2 via tournaments.
🎉 Events coming this september
IShowSpeed has launched his 35-day IRL US Tour starting from Aug 28 at 9 AM ET, going 24/7 across 25 states.
On Sept 12, Kai Cenat unveils his Fortnite Icon skin and kicks off his Mafiathon 3 marathon.
SUBtember returns from Friday, Aug 29 at 10AM PT to Wednesday, Oct 1 at 10AM PT—34 days of discounts, bonuses, and community hype on Twitch. Whether on web or mobile, save big while streamers get full payouts. Find all the infomation here.
Features | Details |
|---|---|
Discounted Subs | All month: 25% off 1-month, 25% off 3-month, 30% off 6-month subs* (web/mobile). |
Bonus Gift Subs Finale | Sept 26-Oct 1 at 10AM PT: For every 5 gift subs bought per channel, VALORANT adds 1 bonus sub** in honor of VALORANT Champions Paris. Extra random bonuses too! (No Treasure Trains or personal gift promos during finale.) |
Exclusive Badge | Earn the limited-time SUBtember 2025 badge by subbing, gifting, or using Bits. |
Treasure-ier Trains | Gift sub bundle discounts (35% off) start at Level 2 instead of 5—get those hype trains rolling early! |
Closing Thoughts
As the livestreaming world navigates both its darkest challenges and brightest milestones, one thing is clear: the industry is evolving at breakneck speed. From Kick’s scrutiny to Twitch’s SUBtember celebrations, platforms and creators alike are shaping the future of how we connect, watch, and play.
👉 Stay tuned for more updates, thank you for being part of this ever-changing journey.