Summary
Rachel “Valkyrae” Hofstetter has made an impressive return toTwitch, reclaiming her spot as the platform’s top female streamer in just a week.Twitchstreamer Valkyrae’s swift rise reflects both her long-lasting impact on the streaming community and the excitement surrounding her return to Twitch.
Valkyrie started streaming in 2015 on Amazon-owned streaming platform Twitch and became famous due to herFortnitecontent. In 2020, she became the focus of the streaming community by signing a two-year exclusive deal with YouTube, which was a big step in her streaming career. After completing this agreement, she expanded her partnership with YouTube with two more agreements. In December 2024, however,Valkyre surprised her audience by announcing the completionof her third and last YouTube contract and her decision to return to Twitch. She scheduled her first stream on the platform for August 02, 2025.
Valkyrae’s Twitch Comeback Proves Audience Loyalty
Even though Valkyrae’s concurrent viewer count was not higher than that of others like by_Owl, Emiru, or HappyHappyGal during the period of January 8-14, the gross amount of watch time indicates the solidity of her audience and her dominance in the field. Accepting the outpouring of support,multi-talented streamer Valkyraeexpressed gratitude, calling it “the warmest welcome back to Twitch.” She even teased another stream on the same day, which shows that she is not going to slow down anytime soon after such an amazing beginning.
It is worth mentioning thatValkyrae recently explained why she moved from YouTubeback to Twitch. She said that YouTube is giving priority to video content, especially “shorts”, which has left its streaming features less developed over her five years on the platform. Valkyrae noted that competition with YouTube’s huge video library did not align with her focus as a streamer, and felt that Twitch’s focus on live content was better aligned with her goals.
