The appeal isn't in the games themselves, it's in the personality playing them.

Here in Brazil, a lot of kids watch streamers because their families can't afford any gaming devices :(

I've just recently gotten into this. Gotta find someone with good commentary skills, and doesn't have an annoying voice.

Also, speedrunners aren't who I thought they'd be, was expecting a bunch of nerds cracked out on adderall. I don't seek out the genre, but the ones I've stumbled across accidentally are older, with a technical background and do well-spoken commentary. Makes it much more interesting when they can articulate what they're doing as they're doing it.

background noise.

i put it on while i work for games i've already played or would never play

There are some games I can't "git gud" at but I enjoy seeing the gameplay, so I watch edited playthroughs.

I don't watch streams much, for a multitude of reasons.

I don’t understand watching any video game streams. It just makes me want to play video games myself, why would I spoil video games by watching someone else play it?

I don't understand watching any football streams. It just makes me want to play football myself, why would I spoil the fun of playing by watching someone else play it?

I have limited time, watching certain gaming channels lets me know about games I might be interested in.

Then I can wishlist them, purchase them when they're on sale, and never find the time to play them.

I also have limited skills. Watching certain gaming channels lets me experience games I wouldn't be able to progress in if I played them myself.

Also, some are entertaining because of the way the person plays. Watching Jon forget about his damn blunderbuss cavalry until they are again slaughtered to the last man amuses me.

I don't play for an audience, so I can constantly pause and micromanage the game, and therefore don't tend to make these amusing mistakes. I'm also not as good as most professionals. Therefore watching certain professionals play certain games can be more entertaining than playing them myself.

Finally, there's also the reaction factor, same as with film or TV or music reactions. Watching someone experience that surprise or shock for the first time triggers the mirror neuron, and is the closest I can get to experiencing it myself for the first time again.

It’s literally just reality TV. Nothing strange about it. It’s nice to watch someone play a game I like while I’m eating or something.

I will say I don’t like watching female streamers because through no fault of their own (sometimes it is their fault) they are non stop sexualized and either make it their personality to be toxic towards men or don’t get into the content because men are constantly bothering them. Also thirst trap streamers are the worst.

I used to hang out with friends in college, and I'd do homework in the same room while they'd play videogames (or vice-versa). Throwing a streamer on while I'm working gives the same vibe.

I like to watch high level gameplay to see what others are doing. There are streamers who talk through their decision making and you get really valuable insight. YouTube just isnt as good because the games and lessons are cherrypicked instead of being able to see how they play winning and losing.

That kinda depends on the type of game and type of gameplay. Speedruns are very obviusly something you can watch and not spoil yourself. There are also games that have hard learning curve and watching someone skilled is fun and a way to learn the game ( europa universalis for example ) . Some pepole want to watch someone role playing beacuse they know they will never be able to do that in a milion years ( i for example beat mass effect 3 times always taking the same decisions beacuse i just couldnt force myself to do somdthing diffrent ) so you might wanna watch someone who will do actual evil playtrough.

Nobody is watching for the game. Everyone is watching the cute girls and the bewbss.