Overwatch was Twitch's most-watched new game in 2016, and other stats

Infographics are so 2016. The hip, cool way of making data exciting is to make it into a road trip.

Published today, Twitch's 2016 Retrospective is an interactive year-in-review that encourages players to drive through the landscape of the life online, picking up interesting tidbits and trivia along the way. You can play as a guest and learn things like how many minutes were watched in total last year (292 billion) or which country is the friendliest (Finland, much to the approval of PC Gamer editor Evan Lahti), or you can log in with your Twitch account for a more "personalized experience," and a prize at the end of the trip.

Some spoilers: 

  • Twitch finished the year with 2.2 million unique streamers
  • Twitch users sent 14.2 billion chat messages last year
  • The most-used emote in 2016 was the Kappa, which was brought into action 413 million times
  • The most-watched new game was (surprise) Overwatch
  • A whopping $25.3 million was raised for charity

That impressive charity total includes $9 million raised by Extra Life, $2.6 million from the Yogcast Jingle Jam, and $2.5 million from Games Done Quick. A full breakdown of the funds raised can be seen below—and bravo to everyone who took part, either by donating or helping to raise funds.

Some key Twitch stats are withheld—such as Twitch's total audience, any measurement of Twitch Prime subscriptions, and a ranking of the most popular games throughout the year—but the webpage is otherwise a colorful tabulation of Twitch culture.

Note that the personalized version of this retrospective is not currently live, but Twitch said it will be up and running "shortly." We'll let you know when it is. 

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Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.