11 Pros and Cons of Starting a YouTube Gaming Channel
Last Updated on March 5, 2025 by Michael Brockbank
Have you considered creating a gaming channel on YouTube? According to Google, about 200 million people watch gaming content daily on the platform, and the numbers continue to grow year-over-year. You might be able to gain some of that audience.
But don’t expect your channel to be an instant success. It can be an extremely long road for many to pull in enough viewers to make a career out of gaming on YouTube.
However, there is a great deal of potential in using YouTube instead of other online platforms.
It really comes down to the type of audience you want to engage and the type of content you want to create. Not to mention how well you market your channel off of YouTube to gain viewers.
11 Pros and Cons of YouTube Gaming
VoD and Live Viewership
One of the major things that separates YouTube from Twitch gaming is video-on-demand. Unlike Twitch, YouTube was built around uploading and showing videos by creators. As such, there are a lot more options for delivering gaming videos for both VoD and live streams.
This means that someone could be watching one of your uploaded videos of one game while you’re streaming another. In fact, the VoDs are why a lot of Twitch streamers also have a YouTube channel.
Not everyone who watches a live stream watches videos and vice versa. In reality, most of your views and watch time will probably come from videos you’ve uploaded, especially if you publish reviews or tutorials.
Searchable on YouTube and Google
YouTube is one of the largest search engines in the world second only to Google itself. When someone searches for specific gaming content on Google, results from YouTube are also shown. This means your video has a chance for greater exposure outside of YouTube.
Of course, this also depends on the topic and the quality of the video you’re producing. Getting a video to show up on Google is a bit more involved than just uploading it.
Nonetheless, you could find that a large chunk of your views and watch time come from Google instead of YouTube.
Lots of Monetization Options – Eventually
YouTube has a lot of ways a gaming channel can monetize the content. Unfortunately, most of them are locked behind the first tier of the YouTube Partner Program. This means you need to hit at least 3,000 hours of watch time within a 12-month period and have at least 500 subscribers.
Unfortunately, the AdSense ads and a few other tools are locked until you reach the illustrious 4,000 hours of watch time while having 1,000 subscribers on your channel. The other side of that coin is just how much you get for making money and engaging your audience.
Currently, you can’t gift channel memberships on YouTube like you can on Twitch, unfortunately.
Fourthwall Integration
Selling merch is one of the many ways YouTubers make money outside of ad revenue. In many cases, they’ll make far more on merchandise sales than they will from AdSense.
Fourthwall is a great monetization platform that lets you sell print-on-demand merch as well as membership tiers. So, it’s kind of like Patreon with the addition of selling products.
Fourthwall also lets you sell your own merch, but you’ll have to cover shipping costs. For instance, if you have a 3D printer and create some fun gaming-themed products, you can post them to Fourthwall and sell them from your home.
Streamlabs Integration
Although Streamlabs is best known for its integration with Twitch, it has growing support for YouTube. Now, you can show when people interact with your channel such as subscribing, becoming a member, or if they send Super Chats.
Unfortunately, Streamlabs got rid of the thumbnail generator for YouTube videos when it changed from “Prime” to “Ultra.” However, the Ultra paid membership gives you access to video editing tools as well as a way to easily create portrait-style videos for YouTube shorts or TikTok.
If you plan to keep it free, the alert boxes and such are easy to implement and may help engage your viewers.
Easy to Embed Content – ish
YouTube makes sharing videos very easy. You can simply copy the embed code and paste it directly into your website. In WordPress, you just add an HTML block and add the code to your site.
You can also share the URL across several social platforms directly from the video itself.
Now comes the drawback. In order to embed a live feed, you’ll have to embed each one separately. Every time you go live, you have to copy and paste the new coding. It’s not like the Twitch feed embed that is constantly live. YouTube creates a new URL and key for every live stream.
Channel Customization for Engagement
YouTube offers a lot of customization options to improve channel engagement. This includes your intro video, community tab, and the ability to create specific playlists on the channel page.
Speaking of playlists, there are ways you can embed those on your website as well. If you’re using WordPress, it’s relatively easy with certain plugins. In some cases, all you need to do is input the URL and WordPress will show visitors the entire playlist collection.
You can also customize what playlists to show and in what order. For example, let’s say you favor making Minecraft videos. You can move the playlist to the top so that those videos are front and center.
The channel page also has an area for links you want to highlight or any other YouTube channel to which you’re affiliated. It’s kind of like cross-promoting the other content you might have on YouTube.
Growing Competition
When creating a YouTube gaming channel, the most important thing to remember is that the competition is incredibly high. Of course, this is true regardless of what platform you want to use for live streams. Yet, it feels like it’s more difficult to gain an audience on YouTube than on something like Twitch.
This also means that as YouTube gaming grows, so will the number of people streaming.
On the upside, a lot of the tactics that work on Twitch for growing an audience work with YouTube live content. However, creating VoD content is a bit different and you’ll need to dive a bit into what makes a good video if you want to engage a larger audience.
Monetization Requirements
It is much easier to get affiliate status on Twitch to start earning ad revenue as opposed to YouTube. As I mentioned earlier, you need at least 1000 subscribers and 4,000 hours of watch time within a 12-month timeframe before applying to AdSense.
Like everything else on YouTube, though, this mostly boils down to topics, games, and personality. That’s why a lot of gamers will upload gaming videos in addition to streaming live. Both count toward the illustrious 4,000 hours of watch time for AdSense revenue.
On a side note, if it wasn’t for the recent live streams, it would have taken several more months to get my writing channel monetized on YouTube. So, a mixture of both VoDs and live streams is ideal.
Poor Visibility for Live Streams
One of the biggest gripes for YouTube gamers is how the visibility for live streams is exceptionally poor. During a basic search for a game, only the top-rated streamer is listed in most cases. Unless someone goes to the Gaming section, looks for a game, and stumbles across your stream, it’s very hard to find your gameplay.
This is another reason why a lot of gaming YouTubers focus on building a community of subscribers through uploaded videos. Some of those people wind up tuning in, not to mention that your profile pic gets highlighted with “Live” should someone stumble across one of your other videos on their home feed.
No matter what video the person sees from your channel, your profile icon will have a red circle with the word, “Live” underneath it.
Although YouTube is kind of working on helping with livestream visibility, your best option is to make sure you’re marketing the hell out of your channel everywhere.
More Work to Be Successful
In many ways, it’s a lot more work to be successful on YouTube. You shouldn’t rely on livestreaming alone as most of your audience is probably going to subscribe thanks to uploaded videos. In that case, you need to learn a lot about setting up a channel, the best uploading practices, video SEO, and much more.
There is a lot more involved when creating a gaming channel on YouTube. Nonetheless, there is a great deal of potential behind creating one.
As I said earlier, most of your successful game streamers on Twitch also have a YouTube channel. And since 2023, we’re able to stream to both simultaneously, which I’ll go over here in a moment.
A lot of gamers will attest to how much easier it is to set up a good Twitch channel as opposed to YouTube. Still, it could be worth the time if you maintain both. You could simply go so far as to clip parts of your live stream from Twitch and upload them directly to YouTube.
If done right, both platforms can work in tandem to grow a massive audience.
Should You Start a Gaming Channel On YouTube?
The only thing you lose by starting a gaming channel on YouTube is time, especially if you already have a web camera and a microphone. You can easily start small and then invest in better gear as your channel grows.
I suppose I am a bit biased as I know the power of YouTube from a marketing perspective. My channel has helped me sell books, advertise brands for sponsorships, and make a bit of ad revenue on the side.
Regardless, YouTube has potential to be a powerful tool when used correctly. But as I’ve pointed out a couple of times, success mostly depends on topic and personality.
In this case, it’s about the games you play and what you bring to the table in terms of viewer experience.
Despite the difficulty of getting a channel fully monetized, it’s still incredibly fun and gives you a chance to meet all kinds of awesome people. Sure, you’ll have the occasional troll or two. But for the most part, you’ll find your core audience incredibly inspiring to keep making videos and livestreams.
Why Not Multistream?
When we go live, we stream to both Twitch and YouTube simultaneously. Keeping track of the chat is a bit of a pain, but it virtually doubles our audience.
Multistreaming gives you the ability to reach audiences on other platforms during a single stream. Why would you want to do this? Because not everyone uses the same platforms for gaming content.
Some will love Twitch, others will prefer YouTube, and there might be a handful who want to watch you on Facebook or even Twitter. Creating content for all of those platforms individually would be a hell of a time suck. Multistreaming can let you tap those networks all at once.
Luckily, there are several ways you can multistream even if you have a terrible Internet connection. For example, Streamyard handles multistreams quite well while bringing all of your chatters into one window.
Another good option is Restream for multistreams. It also has cross-platform chat and can handle 4k video feeds in the free version.
12 Tips for Building a YouTube Gaming Channel
- Customize Thumbnails
If you’re making VoD content, make sure your thumbnails stand out and appear unique. You want to grab the viewer’s attention. - Focus on Building a Community
As I pointed out, YouTube is bad at promoting live streams. Building a community will help bring those viewers back when you go live. - Play the Latest and Greatest Games
Most viewers are watching the latest games or those that are highly competitive. You might do well to play some of those high-profile titles. - Invest in Video and Audio as Soon as Possible
The quality of your videos and streams is of utmost importance. As your channel grows, upgrade your gear to provide a better experience. - Use Tools Like vidIQ for Video Ideas
Using apps like vidIQ can help with video ideas and logistics. In fact, all of the videos vidIQ suggested I make are among the top 10 viewed for my channel. - Interact with Viewers
People love being social. Interact with your viewers and make them part of the show. You can turn a one-time viewer into a long-term fan. - Market the YouTube Gaming Channel Well
Promote the gaming channel in as many areas as possible on the Internet. Social media, email signatures, blog posts…get it in front of everyone. - Optimize the Channel Page
Utilize all of the features of the channel page to create something that tempts people to subscribe. Don’t just stick with the default settings. - Be Consistent
Consistency is key to succeeding on YouTube. Regular uploads and live streams can do wonders for your channel in the algorithm. Not to mention keeping subscribers coming back for more. - Try to Offer Something Unique
With how many gaming channels there are on YouTube, being unique is going to be tough. But try to put your own spin on something and share your personality. - Create a Livestream and Video Schedule
Make a schedule of live streams and video uploads throughout the week. That way, viewers know when to start looking for new content. Plus, it’ll help you stay consistent to make the YouTube algorithm happy. - Be Patient
The odds are exceptionally low that you’ll come out of the gate with a successful YouTube gaming channel. It can take months if not years to really make a channel stand out in the crowd. Be patient with yourself and the channel. Don’t expect instant riches.
There is Great Potential in a Gaming Channel, But…
It’s a lot of hard work to succeed on YouTube. It’s not the strongest platform for live gaming, which is why a lot of people still prefer Twitch. However, there is nothing wrong with building both of these platforms at the same time.
The more effort you put into making something stand out, the better your chances of succeeding on any platform. It might take a while to build momentum. But when you hit that stride, it all comes together quickly.
Be patient with your channel and don’t forget to have fun.
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