TwitchCon Rotterdam 2026 showed how livestreaming is rewriting what "attention" means

When thousands of streamers, viewers, and fans descended on Rotterdam Ahoy for TwitchCon Rotterdam 2026, one thing was immediately clear: the Twitch community doesn't just watch content, they show up for each other. Attendees traveled from across Europe to meet their favorite creators, compete in interactive experiences, and celebrate the culture they've built together in chat, on streams, and through shared experiences.

This is the final year Europe's largest livestreaming event will take place in Rotterdam before moving to Berlin in 2027.

For brands, that kind of devotion is rare. This is an audience that's genuinely paying attention, actively participating, and deeply loyal to the creators and communities they follow. Twitch commands 60% of the global livestreaming landscape, with adult Gen Z and millennials spending 75+ minutes on average per visit and nearly 70% of its 105 million+ monthly visitors aged 18–34.

"On Twitch, viewers don't passively scroll, they participate," explained Andrea Garabedian, Director, Amazon Ads. "They chat with, react to, and influence what their favorite creators are doing, all in real time. That creates a fundamentally different relationship between audiences, creators, and the brands that show up authentically in those spaces."

From new research into Gen Z behavior, to creator-led brand campaigns across Europe, to AI-powered tools designed to help creators earn more—here are the biggest moments from across the weekend that brands need to pay attention to.

Show up with content that's alive

On the Friday evening before TwitchCon Rotterdam kicked off, Amazon Ads hosted the Hype Lounge—an invite-only event for brands and agencies that set the scene for the weekend. Garabedian shared findings from new Twitch research into "The Authenticity Reset": revealing how Gen Z is rewriting the rules of what feels real in marketing.

Thousands of creators, viewers, and fans gathered at Rotterdam Ahoy for two days of live entertainment, brand activations, and community.

The headline finding: Gen Z doesn't just want authenticity—they want content that's alive. The research found that 78% of Gen Z think social media is fake, 84% want real creators and real connections, and 70% crave long-form, uncut, unfiltered content. Meanwhile, 59% want content they can actively influence.

"Content that's alive can't be replicated after the fact because it happens in real time—reactive to the audience, shaped by human decisions in the moment," said Garabedian. "On Twitch, every stream is alive by default. Creators are responding to chat, adapting on the fly, and building something with their community that didn't exist five minutes ago."

Build for the community, not around them

At TwitchCon Rotterdam, the Hype Lounge also featured a panel with popular U.K. creator Poopernoodle, who spoke about her recent Fanta campaign through the Twitch Brand Partnership Studio (BPS). What makes brand work on Twitch different, she explained, is the freedom to weave brand messages into her stream however feels natural for her and her community—while BPS provides creative guidance behind the scenes to make sure the campaign lands. It's collaborative, not scripted.

That collaborative model is central to how BPS works. The studio—part of Amazon Ads Brand Innovation Lab—has executed more than 1,650 creator-led campaigns globally since 2020, winning more than 80 industry awards. For brands exploring Twitch for the first time, Garabedian described a crawl, walk, run approach. "Brands can start with display ads for a sustained presence on the service—building familiarity with the community over time. But for those bold enough to go big, perhaps for a new product launch or a major cultural moment, BPS can create a fully custom livestream experience that delivers massive impact in a single day."

That boldness is on display across Europe. Premier Inn became the first U.K. hospitality brand to activate on Twitch with a 10-hour livestream hosted by creator Danny Aarons. Blindfolded and dropped into a mystery hotel, Danny had to solve clues to discover his location—with Twitch chat controlling the action. The stream delivered 8.9 million minutes watched, more than 881,000 unique viewers, and over 36,000 chat interactions.

In Spain, five popular creators navigated a custom-built Minecraft world featuring iconic Andalusian landmarks for the region's tourism board, generating 11.1 million viewing minutes with click-through rates 3.6x higher than the national tourism industry standard. In France, Lacoste turned their holiday lookbook into a chat-controlled gaming competition. In Italy, telecommunications company CoopVoce extended their Prime Video sponsorship onto Twitch with a first-of-its-kind "Watch With Me" format.

"Any brand can find its place in this community," said Sam LeGassick, Head of Creative EU at BPS. "The key is understanding that success on Twitch comes from adding value to the experience—not interrupting it."

Give creators the tools to succeed

For creators, brand collaborations represent one of the most important ways to grow their revenue on Twitch. To help them deliver successfully and attract more advertiser investment, Amazon Ads announced two new AI-powered tools ahead of TwitchCon Rotterdam: Chat Sentiment Analysis and Campaign Assist.

Chat Sentiment Analysis uses AI-powered language analysis to evaluate chat messages during sponsored streams, giving advertisers audience reaction breakdowns by sentiment—and helping creators demonstrate the value they're delivering to brands, all in real time.

Campaign Assist helps creators deliver against campaign requirements in real time. If a talking point is missed during a livestream, creators get immediate, private feedback while they're still live—rather than finding out days later. Creators don't need to deliver brand messages word-for-word; they have freedom to make messages authentic to their community while meeting brand objectives.

"When brands consistently see that campaigns are delivered successfully, they become more comfortable investing in live environments and more likely to continue funding creator collaborations over time," said Garabedian. "These tools support creators, strengthen trust with brands, and help make sponsorship opportunities more accessible for creators."

Extend your reach across the full funnel

Twitch doesn't exist in isolation. It's part of the broader Amazon Ads portfolio, playing a distinct role in a full-funnel offering for advertisers. Campaigns that include Twitch alongside Prime Video deliver +74% incremental reach—meaning nearly three-quarters of the audience exposed on Twitch are not reached by Prime Video alone.

Twitch is fully integrated into Amazon DSP and powered by the same first-party signals that underpin every Amazon Ads solution. Brands can measure full-funnel impact, including sales in the Amazon store, through Amazon Marketing Cloud.

As livestreaming grows and Twitch's creative canvas expands beyond gaming into mainstream culture, the opportunity for brands is only getting bigger. When 86% of viewers tune in for community, nearly 90% take action after seeing an ad, and 80% actively appreciate brands that support their favorite creators, one thing is clear: the audience isn't just watching—they're waiting for brands brave enough to show up and participate alongside them.