Across the world, millions of people are watching other people play video games on platforms such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitch. Twitch in particular has become the world's biggest video game streaming platform, with over 240 million people using the site each month, and over 7 million people actively streaming. Imagine that — a whole business, worth billions of dollars, based on people wanting to watch other people play video games. But why do people want to do this — instead of just playing the games themselves? One possible reason is the personality of the players. People enjoy watching how these gamers react and make jokes as they play the games. One study in 2021 found that people like to watch gamers simply because they find their personalities attractive. They may also be attracted by a player's skill. Some simply find it enjoyable to watch a professional gamer play a difficult video game, while others may hope to learn and improve their own skills by watching. Another study in 2016 looked at people who watch gamers on Twitch in particular. It found that people watch these gamers not only to learn from them, but also to see what a game is like before they decide whether or not to buy it. The same study found that people also watched games online because they could interact with other people who liked games, and it gave them a sense of community. This kind of online community would become especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic, when Twitch's audience grew by about 80%. However, according to the 2016 study, the biggest reason people like to watch video gamers is simply because they want to relax and forget about their daily life. Just as there are many different kinds of video games, there are also many different kinds of gamers. And it seems people's reasons for watching these gamers are just as varied.