GTA RP helps GTA 5 dethrone League of Legends as most-watched title of 2021

Eight years after its release, GTA 5 continues to sit at the pinnacle of the gaming world. The open-world spectacle has moved past League of Legends as the most-watched title of 2021, proving that it still rules the hearts of gamers globally.

GTA Online has given the franchise the exposure it needs to cement itself as a force to be reckoned with. GTA 5 is closing in on 150 million copies sold, and it’s now the second highest-selling video game of all time, behind Minecraft.

GTA 5 has edged past LoL to take the top spot (Image via Stream Hatchet)

The NoPixel 3.0 GTA RP server has also been causing havoc on the internet since its update in February this year. Several high-profile streamers, including Felix "xQc" Lengyel, Michael "Shroud" Grzesiek, and Jaryd Russell "Summit1G" Lazar, have been actively streaming on the server.

The server's popularity has even drawn the likes of LeBron James and Travis Scott in, apart from just about every marquee streamer.

GTA 5 is closing in on 150 million copies sold (Image via Sportskeeda)

NoPixel's update in February came as a surprise. Since then, it has become a fan favorite and has taken the internet by storm. With over 536 million hours of watch-time across Twitch, YouTube, and Facebook Gaming, the online sensation has overtaken League of Legends as the most-watched video game.

Viewers worldwide have contributed 8.8 billion hours of total stream watch time in the first three months of the year. GTA 5 dominated the entire market as it took home the biggest chunk of the number mentioned above.

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The GTA server made famous by several high profile streamers

OfflineTV's Rust server ended 2020 on a pretty high note. It put together some of the industry's biggest streamers, including Shroud, Imane "Pokimane" Anys, xQc, and Rachel "Valkyrae" Hofstetter.

Sadly, there was a split in the server, which more or less affected its popularity. Another reason for the decline in popularity was NoPixel 3.0. The server hit the shelves in February, and most streamers mentioned above jumped ships.

Valkyrae is one of the leading streamers who latched onto the GTA RP server (Image via Sportskeeda)

While xQc may have been the driving reason behind a split in the Rust server, his highs and lows with GTA RP have been the driving reason behind its success.

xQc has been banned from the GTA RP server (Image via Sportskeeda)

League of Legends is still pretty close in second place. The free-to-play game dominated 2020 as the most-watched competitive title and has continued to perform strongly in 2021.

From the looks of it, both titles will keep taking jabs at each other to stay at the top of the ladder. Even after falling to second spot, LoL remains 145 million hours ahead of Fortnite in third place.