TL;DR Takeaways by Hatchet:
- The latest SUBtember saw a 10% jump in purchased tiered subs month over month, but this is a sharp drop off from the 40% jump seen in 2024
- Ironmouse is the reigning queen of SUBtember with her annual charity stream that brought in 306K new subs for her channel this year, 6x more than any other channel
- Apart from the ever-popular SUBathon marathon streams, creators are also using Twitch Drops in combination to further boost their viewerships
SUBtember has just concluded: Twitch’s season of giving. Throughout September each year, Twitch offers discounts for upgrading and buying new subscriptions. This is just one of many Twitch-exclusive events that streamers and developers capitalize on to grow their community, much like Twitch Drops campaigns.
SUBtember 2026 ran from the 29th of August until the 1st of October, with discounts of up to 30% off depending on the duration of the subscription purchased. There were also promotions for Bits Donations and Gift Subs, all of which stack up to encourage streamers to get on board and pull off massive marathon streams and other promotions throughout September. In this article, we’ll look at how successful SUBtember is at raising the number of Twitch subscriptions and which streamers benefited most from the event.
SUBtember Demonstrates How Discounts Drive Subs on Twitch
What are Subs on Twitch, and how do they work? Twitch subscriptions allow viewers to support and further engage with their favorite streamers. Depending on what “Tier” of subscription the viewer holds (Tier 1, Tier 2, or Tier 3), they can access custom Twitch emotes, equip Subscriber Badges, and unlock ad-free viewing. Additionally, however, viewers also get one free “Prime Sub” with Amazon Prime, and fans can also purchase Gift Subs for other viewers to grow the streamer’s community! Note that for the purposes of this analysis, only subs bought while streamers are online are included, but upgrading from one tier to another also counts.
In 2026, discounts on Twitch subscriptions successfully got viewers to open up their wallets. During SUBtember there were 14.2M new tiered sub purchases – a significant rise of 10.3% from August. The effect of this SUBtember boost has dropped from the ~40% jump seen in 2024, suggesting SUBtember isn’t the much hyped event it once was. However, looking only at % boost belies the fact that subs on Twitch are still incredibly popular: The past 3 years have all seen upwards of 14M new tiered subs purchased during SUBtember, a consistent lift from pre-2024 where just 3-4M subs were purchased in the same month.
Prime subs are a slightly different situation, however: Prime subs aren’t discounted at all during SUBtember. Over the past 5 years, Prime sub numbers have always dropped or held steady from August to September as viewers opt to take advantage of tiered sub promotions. For reference, Prime subs tend to float around the 2M per month mark in SUBtember. And, in 2026, this number dipped to a 7-year low at just 1.7M. This more likely reflects shifting attitudes in Amazon Prime more than SUBtember, however.
Ironmouse is The VTuber Queen of SUBtember
Though every streamer clamours to boost their sub count over SUBtember, one streamer in particular has made the event into an annual milestone. In SUBtember 2026, VTuber Ironmouse gained 306K new subs; by far the biggest growth, and a full 259K ahead of TheBurntPeanut in second place with 47K new subs. Somehow this isn’t even her most successful SUBtember ever, having gained 321K new subs back in 2024 (an achievement that briefly put her in the top spot prior to Kai Cenat’s Mafiathon). Regardless, Ironmouse’s “Mouseathon” event has proven its staying power, helped by the fact it supports a worthwhile cause in raising money for the Immune Deficiency Foundation.
Among other streamers, there’s still massive growth though. Ever-popular streamers such as TheBurntPeanut, Cinna, and Jynxzi pop up here, but SUBtember also allows room for some lesser known names to turn the month into a live-streaming event and gain new appreciation. ZChum, humzh, and DGthe99 all stand out as clear examples, growing their sub base by over 35K. How’d they do it? Well, some common tips for how to garner new Twitch subs during SUBtember include…
- Labeling and tagging streams with “SUBtember” or “subathon”
- Giving viewers advanced warning of SUBtember and specific event details
- Running a marathon stream or subathon
- Offering limited-time sub tier emotes
- Providing incentives for viewers based on hitting sub goals (such as community games, challenge runs, or trying out games requested by fans)
While we’re a big fan of SUBtember here, there appears to be a drop in excitement for SUBtember as an event in and of itself among the top streamers. The most watched streamers were zackrawrr and Caedrel with over 10M hours watched each, but neither of these streamers leaned into SUBtember. zackrawrr grabbed attention with exclusive beta access to World of Warcraft Forever, while Caedrel leaned on his League of Legends fanbase with coverage of the LEC and LCK. A similar story is seen with eliasn97 (EA Sports FC 27 coverage), TheBurntPeanut (WARDOGS coverage), and fps_shaka (Rust event coverage).
Only ironmouse breaks this rule, sitting in 6th place with 7.3M hours watched. What’s the reason for this drop off in big names supporting SUBtember? Back in 2024, collaboration streams using SUBtember as an impetus to get together were a massive trend. As an example, four of the top 10 streamers for the 2024 edition were (now ex) FaZe Clan members stableronaldo, plaqueboymax, Lacy, and jasontheween who hosted a 30-day long SUBathon stream. So were these types of SUBathon streams still happening in 2026?
SUBtember Viewership Goes to SUBathon streams, Drops Promos, and New Games
As a reminder, SUBathons are special Twitch events in which streamers run a marathon stream and encourage viewers to subscribe for all the usual perks. Every time someone subscribes during a SUBathon, the clock gets extended. Combining streaming challenges, subathons, AND SUBtember together is a recipe for live-streaming success.
Looking at the top streams by hours watched tagged with “SUBtember” or “SUBathon” shows that marathon streams are still alive and well, they’ve simply adapted with the times. Stableronaldo actually pops up here twice (two years on from his past SUBtember success) with a Chained Together marathon stream with Jynxzi and others that capitalizes on the streaming community’s love for co-op games.
Smaller streamers also embraced SUBathons, but did so by combining the format with other drawcards. Take KanonXO, for example, whose Twitch Drops campaign for the new game AION 2 landed within his 24h SUBathon window. There’s also Chatterbox, a rising Canadian streamer known for his GTA RP content who combined NoPixel RP server gameplay with a month-long SUBathon. While SUBtember no longer acts as a drawcard alone, it can still be a welcome complement to other trending Twitch content.
SUBtember remains a crucial moment in Twitch’s calendar for encouraging streamers and viewers alike to band together as a community, but the strategies for doing so have shifted from simple collaboration to cross-promotional content.
With SUBtember over for another year, Twitch will likely settle down a little over the coming weeks. But publishers and brands should be reviewing this year’s performance to see how they could make use of this crucial period in 2027 to attract creators to their communities. KanonXO’s collaboration with AION 2 was a great example of how a “smaller” release can be supercharged with SUBtember hype. Brands that can back creators by assisting with event support during this window automatically gain access to a more receptive audience than other times of the year, and that means better engagement as a result.
To get the latest insights impacting streaming and socials, follow Hatchet and receive exclusive newsletter-only content: