As League of Legends has risen in popularity over the years, so too have the amount of players – and content creators.
As of September 2016 there are now more than 100 million registered player accounts, and seemingly thousands of content creators.
With free and incredibly accessible platforms around nowadays like Twitter, YouTube, Twitch and Snapchat, it’s easier than ever to create and share your own content.
This has resulted in an explosion of the number of League of Legends YouTubers and streamers around. It’s great news for Riot – it means there’s more promotion for their game, and the most popular content creators can also benefit from some handsome revenues (Gross Gore made more than £100,000 from donations alone in 2015).
But is the number of LoL YouTubers and streamers a good thing? Are we getting too much of the same content? When a new champ hits the PBE server, there are many streamers we follow who produce the same kind of preview videos.
So while it’s easy to start making your own content, it’s arguably harder than ever to be original – and stay original – in an ever-growing and ever-competitive YouTuber environment.
This is a point raised by League of Legends YouTuber and streamer Foxdrop, who tweeted the following:
@Foxdroplol thought I found a good balance between original, entertaining, and reviving my old YT passion from 3 years ago. NOPE
— Foxdrop (@Foxdroplol) January 2, 2017
This prompted a discussion with other YouTubers and viewers, which came after Foxdrop was accused of copying a video by TheLoLHounds.
@thelolhounds1 @G33K01345 and some people are saying I copied your mastery video series
— Foxdrop (@Foxdroplol) 2 January 2017
Video interview: Foxdrop on the state of UK LoL and the art of content creation
Another YouTuber, Shaclone, weighed in, agreeing with Foxdrop and adding that ‘content creators have been proportionally growing more than viewership has’.
@Foxdroplol Originality comes from progression
But yeah I agree, waaaay too many League youtubers lately, aka all the “retired” League pros— Shaclone (@Shaclone) 2 January 2017
@Foxdroplol I feel like on Youtube and Twitch, content creators have been proportionally growing more than viewership has
— Shaclone (@Shaclone) January 2, 2017
It’s like so many things in life. For example, back in the ’80s, there were a limited number of US punk rock bands, for example, and tons of potential fans clamouring over the limited amount of top quality bands in that genre.
Nowadays, there are umpteen bands, and instead a limited number of fans who are still super interested in that type of music. A similar comparison can be made to the app store.
It seems the same may be happening with content creators. Back when YouTube first launched, there were few content creators and a surge in popularity and traffic to the site. Today, it seems everyone has a YouTube channel, and there are more platforms cropping up – like Twitch and Snapchat – making viewer time potentially more limited.
At the same time, former pro League of Legends players and casters are streaming themselves (Scarra interviews for The Score Esports and has his own YouTube videos, for example).
This all means that YouTube LoL content is becoming somewhat oversaturated.
It’s a challenge for content creators, but at the same time it means the cream rises to the top, and it’s even harder to become a number one streamer or YouTuber.
We were always told that content is king, and if you’re producing content that people like or find useful in some way, or have exclusive info, then you’ll be doing something right.
Sometimes, all you need is a little reassurance from your viewers or readers. A little spark of positivity can go a long way. On that note, we’ll end this article with a comment from one of Foxdrop’s fans, which serves as a solid reminder that doing what you enjoy is key.
@Foxdroplol you are the original so don’t care what people think put out content your fans love. Do what you do babe and keep it #Foxy
— Calvin Murray (@th3funguy) January 2, 2017
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
