The first six months of 2026 proved to be extremely busy for gamers. The industry offered dozens of high-profile releases: from anticipated, large-scale AAA blockbusters to experimental and bold indie projects. The Streams Charts analytics team reviewed the results of the first half of the year to determine which games gathered the most viewers on streaming platforms and which managed to retain audience attention best after the initial hype.
The article considers only live streaming statistics for games during the first seven days following their official release.
Despite many potential hits releasing in the second quarter, Capcom's February release, Resident Evil: Requiem, confidently holds the status of the most popular release of 2026 so far. The new survival horror title made a massive splash: in its first week alone, streams of the game generated over 43.6 million hours watched on streaming platforms. This figure allowed the game to outpace all competitors by a wide margin. However, analysts note that holding the top spot until the end of the year will be difficult for Requiem, as Grand Theft Auto VI is scheduled for release in November.
Second place in the rankings went to Pearl Abyss's long-awaited Crimson Desert. In its first week, the game generated 27.2 million hours watched. Experts note that this success was largely driven by paid sponsored streams: over 6% of the total watch time came from sponsored broadcasts—one of the highest figures among titles in the ranking. At the same time, a third of all views (32.7%) were generated by just the top 10 streamers, indicating a degree of niche appeal where popularity relied heavily on specific opinion leaders.
Subnautica 2 emerged as the major release of the second quarter. The underwater survival simulator from Unknown Worlds Entertainment launched in third place with 16.3 million hours watched in its first week. However, the game experienced the sharpest drop in interest: by the second week, hours watched plummeted by 82%, and the number of channels streaming it was cut in half. The hype was loud, but short-lived.
The unexpected success of Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream deserves special mention. Nintendo's life simulator became a true handheld hit. The game not only surpassed the new Forza Horizon 6 in views, but also showed phenomenal audience retention: it was the only project in the top 10 whose streaming channel count actually increased in its second week (+4.2%) rather than falling.
Trends in the Ukrainian-language streaming segment largely mirror global ones. Resident Evil: Requiem claimed first place here as well, gathering around 103.7K hours watched in its first week.
The main difference lies in the attitude toward racing simulators and Nintendo games. While Forza Horizon 6 ranked eighth globally, Ukrainian streamers and viewers pushed it to second place. Conversely, exclusives like Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream failed to gain traction locally due to the significantly lower popularity of the Nintendo Switch 2 console. Additionally, games like Directive 8020 and REANIMAL made the Ukrainian top 10, despite falling outside the global rankings.
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