Kick has emerged as the leading live-streaming platform across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), capturing 81.4% of all regional viewership in Q1 2026, according to new research from Stream Hatchet. Total quarterly hours watched in the region climbed from approximately 95 million in Q1 2022 to 490 million in Q1 2026.
Twitch Ban Accelerates Platform Shift
Turkish regulators restricted access to Twitch in February 2024 over gambling content concerns, redirecting a large and active streaming community toward alternatives. Kick, which had reached a compromise with Turkish authorities by limiting gambling sections on its platform, absorbed much of that displaced audience.
Twitch’s MENA viewership fell from roughly 107 million quarterly hours watched in Q1 2024 to 26 million by Q1 2026, a decline of approximately 75%. Kick, starting from near zero in Q3 2023, overtook Twitch as early as Q2 2024. YouTube Gaming grew steadily over the same period, rising from around 24 million quarterly hours in 2022 to 65 million in Q1 2026.
Turkish and Arabic Audiences Split Across Platforms
Platform preference divides along language lines. On YouTube Gaming, Türkiye accounts for 72.7% of all MENA hours watched, with Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE each contributing around 5 to 6%. On Twitch and Kick combined, Arabic speakers account for 65.8% of the 425.6 million hours watched on those platforms, while Turkish-language viewers contribute 34.7%.
Top Creators Concentrate on Kick
Nine of the top 10 MENA creators by hours watched in Q1 2026 streamed primarily on Kick. Absi led all creators with 34.3 million hours watched, building his audience around “PUBG Mobile” and “EA Sports FC” content. Maherco ranked second at 25.4 million hours, drawing viewers through “Slots and Casino” content alongside “Rocket League.”
Together, the two streamers accounted for more hours watched than the remaining eight creators combined. Other top creators include Drb7h, YZNSA, a professional “Counter-Strike” player turned streamer, and Turkish streamers Eray and Rammus53.
‘GTA V’ and Shooters Lead Game Viewership
“Just Chatting” led all categories with 28.9 million hours watched. Among games, “PUBG Mobile” topped the charts at 10.3 million hours, followed by “GTA V” at 9.0 million. “Respect RP,” an Arabic-language “GTA V” roleplay server operating since 2020, contributed an additional 8.3 million hours, bringing the combined “GTA V” total to 17.3 million hours.
“Counter-Strike 2” recorded 7.8 million hours, “EA Sports FC 26” reached 7.5 million, and “Rocket League” logged 6.2 million. The “PUBG” franchise across both mobile and PC combined for nearly 15 million hours watched.
Kings World Cup Nations Draws Largest Event Audience
The Kings World Cup Nations 2026 peaked at 264,000 concurrent viewers among MENA audiences in Q1 2026, the highest of any live-streaming event in the region during the quarter. Morocco and Saudi Arabia both fielded national teams in the tournament.
“Counter-Strike 2” appeared three times among the top events, with PGL Cluj-Napoca reaching 88,000 peak viewers, IEM Kraków at 85,000, and BLAST Open Rotterdam at 74,000. “Dota 2’s” DreamLeague 28 recorded 94,000 peak viewers, while “VALORANT” events drew between 77,000 and 80,000.
Stream Hatchet’s analysis covered Twitch, YouTube Gaming, and Kick, defining MENA across 22 countries and six language groups, including Arabic, Turkish, Persian, Hebrew, Kurdish, and Berber.
Image source: Stream Hatchet The full report is available here
Dragomir is a Serbian freelance blog writer and translator. He is passionate about covering insightful stories and exploring topics such as influencer marketing, the creator economy, technology, business, and cyber fraud.
Kick has emerged as the leading live-streaming platform across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), capturing 81.4% of all regional viewership in Q1 2026, according to new research from Stream Hatchet. Total quarterly hours watched in the region climbed from approximately 95 million in Q1 2022 to 490 million in Q1 2026.
Turkish regulators restricted access to Twitch in February 2024 over gambling content concerns, redirecting a large and active streaming community toward alternatives. Kick, which had reached a compromise with Turkish authorities by limiting gambling sections on its platform, absorbed much of that displaced audience.
Twitch’s MENA viewership fell from roughly 107 million quarterly hours watched in Q1 2024 to 26 million by Q1 2026, a decline of approximately 75%. Kick, starting from near zero in Q3 2023, overtook Twitch as early as Q2 2024. YouTube Gaming grew steadily over the same period, rising from around 24 million quarterly hours in 2022 to 65 million in Q1 2026.
Platform preference divides along language lines. On YouTube Gaming, Türkiye accounts for 72.7% of all MENA hours watched, with Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE each contributing around 5 to 6%. On Twitch and Kick combined, Arabic speakers account for 65.8% of the 425.6 million hours watched on those platforms, while Turkish-language viewers contribute 34.7%.
Nine of the top 10 MENA creators by hours watched in Q1 2026 streamed primarily on Kick. Absi led all creators with 34.3 million hours watched, building his audience around “PUBG Mobile” and “EA Sports FC” content. Maherco ranked second at 25.4 million hours, drawing viewers through “Slots and Casino” content alongside “Rocket League.”
Together, the two streamers accounted for more hours watched than the remaining eight creators combined. Other top creators include Drb7h, YZNSA, a professional “Counter-Strike” player turned streamer, and Turkish streamers Eray and Rammus53.
“Just Chatting” led all categories with 28.9 million hours watched. Among games, “PUBG Mobile” topped the charts at 10.3 million hours, followed by “GTA V” at 9.0 million. “Respect RP,” an Arabic-language “GTA V” roleplay server operating since 2020, contributed an additional 8.3 million hours, bringing the combined “GTA V” total to 17.3 million hours.
“Counter-Strike 2” recorded 7.8 million hours, “EA Sports FC 26” reached 7.5 million, and “Rocket League” logged 6.2 million. The “PUBG” franchise across both mobile and PC combined for nearly 15 million hours watched.
The Kings World Cup Nations 2026 peaked at 264,000 concurrent viewers among MENA audiences in Q1 2026, the highest of any live-streaming event in the region during the quarter. Morocco and Saudi Arabia both fielded national teams in the tournament.
“Counter-Strike 2” appeared three times among the top events, with PGL Cluj-Napoca reaching 88,000 peak viewers, IEM Kraków at 85,000, and BLAST Open Rotterdam at 74,000. “Dota 2’s” DreamLeague 28 recorded 94,000 peak viewers, while “VALORANT” events drew between 77,000 and 80,000.
Stream Hatchet’s analysis covered Twitch, YouTube Gaming, and Kick, defining MENA across 22 countries and six language groups, including Arabic, Turkish, Persian, Hebrew, Kurdish, and Berber.
Image source: Stream Hatchet
The full report is available here
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