Streaming, and particularly streaming on Twitch, has grown to be an incredibly lucrative career for some. In 2021, several Twitch streamers have reportedly already made seven revenue figures from streaming on the site alone. And Subscriptions are a massive part of that.
But who are they? Thanks to an October 2021 leak of Twitch sub payouts, we have a good estimate of who the highest-paid Twitch streamers in terms of subscriptions might be.
According to the leak, the below list outlines the top-25 in terms of total payout between August 2019 and October 2021.
NOTE: Almost all of these figures have been disputed by the streamers mentioned, and the real number may be either much higher or lower. Additionally, these payout numbers are based on subscriber counts and extension payments, not total revenue. This guide will not include sponsorships, lump sums, and other deals.
For more details and figures, read below about the people who may be the highest-paid streamers on Twitch 2021.
Critical Role
Dungeons & Dragons and TTRPG have gone through a renaissance in the past few years, and you’d have to have been living under a rock to not notice that Critical Role has played a part in that. The group of voice actors playing D&D isn’t doing this for free, though. According to leaks, the group raked in an estimated $4.8 million in streaming revenue from subscriptions between September 2020 and October 2021. Between this and an upcoming Netflix animated show, these could be the highest-paid streamers on Twitch.
xQc
Félix “xQc” Lengyel is a Canadian streamer and former Overwatch League player. Even if he was eventually kicked from the Dallas Fuel due to repeated controversy, he may not have felt it in his wallet. Estimates informed by the recent leaks put his take home at around $4 million in 2021 from subscribers alone.
Related: How much money does xQc make as a Twitch streamer?
Summit1g
Former competitive CS:GO player Jaryd Russle Lazar is better known as summit1g. These days he’s a variety streamer who plays everything from shooters to GTA 5 RP servers to MMOs. The Twitch leaks suggest he earns an estimated $2.5 million a year from subscriber numbers, in addition to his numerous sponsors.
Tfue
A federal lawsuit from former team FaZe Clan might well be small potatoes for Turner “Tfue” Tenney. The pro-Fortnite player allegedly earned close to $5.3 million over the past two years from subscriptions on Twitch. However, the streamer has mostly moved away from Twitch in recent months. He originally peaked at around 65,000 subscribers but has since fallen to just a few thousand.
NICKMERCS
Having recently signed a huge exclusivity deal with Twitch, it’s no surprise that Nicholas “Nickmercs” Kolcheff is high on this list. As per the Twitch sub payout leak, Nickmercs could have been earning as much as $2.5 million a year since 2019. The star is now set to earn even more thanks to his new deal, which is allegedly one of the most lucrative in Twitch history.
Ludwig
Ludwig Anders Ahgren’s variety streams have made him one of the poster boys of Twitch, thanks to his positive attitude and incredible subathon events. It’s no surprise he’s high on the list of earners on the leaked list of sub revenue, taking home an alleged $1.6 million dollars a year according to some metrics.
TimTheTatman
Ludwig Anders Ahgren’s variety streams have made him one of the poster boys of Twitch, thanks to his positive attitude and incredible subathon events. According to some metrics, it’s no surprise he’s high on the list of earners on the leaked list of sub revenue, taking home an alleged $1.6 million a year.
Altoar/Sound Alerts
Altoar claims to be the number one German-language streamer globally, but that isn’t why he’s so high on this list. His revenue is tied to the hugely successful Sound Alerts extension, making him one of the highest-paid streamers on the list, even with just around 300 followers and an archive full of test streams.
Auronplay
Raúl Álvarez Genes is a Spanish YouTuber and Twitch Streamer, whose earnings may dwarf all of the others on this list if you combine his 3.6 billion total views on YouTube. Twitch may just be a drop in the ocean for this Spanish-language star, who, according to the leak, could have taken home around $1.5 million this year from subscriptions.
LIRIK
Saqib Ali Zahid, better known as Lirik has over 2.8 million followers on Twitch and is officially sponsored by Discord. But his Twitch earnings are most likely nothing to sniff at either. With his current subscriber numbers, it's alleged that LIRIK has made $1.4 million each year since 2019.
For more details on Twitch, check out All Twitch Affiliate And Partner Requirements on Pro Game Guides.
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