Gaming has dominated a huge chunk of social media and of the internet world, and Valkyrae, the gaming queen, is just one of the names that most gamers would know.
Gaming Queen Valkyrae’s title is not only backed up by her influence and social media engagement but by actual numbers. In 2021, Valkyrae was the most watched streamer with 12.2 Million hours watched in Youtube Live Gaming, double of Pokemane’s hours watched on Twitch.
Before Valkyrae
Valkyrae, or Rachell Hofstetter off-screen, is of mixed descent. She is a Filipino-German who grew up in Washington. She now lives with her mom as her dad passed away last 2017 due to cancer.
She studied at a community college and worked at GameStop after. Sharing her gaming hobby at first on Instagram, Valkyrae made a switch to Twitch.
This was a huge risk for her as Valkyrae shares that she only had 3000-4000 viewers when she first started.
Valkyrae’s broken family lead her to an early exposure to video games to cope and escape her reality.
Sharing the story of her father’s death and her relief at his freedom from the pain he’d endured due to treatments needed to cure his cancer, Valkyrae realizes that online streaming became a platform for her to help other people heal from their own journeys.
“Because of the stuff I’ve been through in my life, I openly talk about it on stream. And I think me being open about this kind of stuff helps a lot of people that are watching. This is going to happen to everyone. I do think sharing the way that I view things helps people see things in a more positive light as well.”
Valkyrae, YOUTUBE-Anthony Padilla
Why game streaming dominates your feed
Connection with fellow video gamers is one of the many benefits of playing video games since the industry was started.
Streaming has made it possible for millions of gamers to interact, play, watch, and even connect with fellow gamers, most especially their gamer idols.
Valkyrae’s streaming success started out with her fans from Instagram convincing her to try streaming on Twitch. Her very own community of fans have grown since.
Women in the gaming industry
Among her millions of viewers, 45% are women which is an insane, in a great way, for Valkyrae.
I want to be a role model to them and inspire them and let them know that gaming is literally just gaming and it’s not a big deal. And that it shouldn’t be gatekept because of who a person is.
Valkyrae, 100 Thieves
Valkyrae shares her regret of not streaming in Youtube sooner than she did. Her female audience apparently increased once she made the switch to Youtube; a fact she was most excited about.
Despite women gamers dominating the top mosts lists, the gaming world isn’t entirely a friendly and safe space for women gamers and gamers from other minorities.
Reports of women gamers being harassed on platforms such as Twitch and other streaming platforms have only been increasing.
With male counterparts mass reporting their content and getting them banned or even questioning their intention for streaming when none of very few of these specific cases and doubts happen to male streamers.
Sadly, despite the countless efforts of women on various platforms, slut shaming still occurs in the digital world.
Women streamers have also shared about getting slut shamed for their costumes or being praised for being modest while male fans or viewers shame other women streamers for their “revealing” costumes.
On overcoming women’s obstacles in the industry
“No matter what you do to cover up, it never ends. There’s always going to be trolls, judging based on your looks, just saying sexist things because I’m a girl and they think it’s funny.”
Valkyrae, Business Insider
Valkyrae isn’t immune to these harassments as well. Valkyrae shared how she received sexist and racist remarks from trolls, one harassing her with such slurs for weeks using 30 Twitch accounts.
Appreciating her fans and the influence she has in the streaming industry, Valkyrae tries as much to collaborate with women gamers and create content her young girl viewers would enjoy.
“I get thousands of emails and messages from people who say I’m helping people with their depression and anxiety, just by playing Fortnite. I wouldn’t do it for as long as I have, if I didn’t realize what an impact it would have on people. I’m just very happy with it.”
Valkyrae, Business Insider
100 Thieves, music videos, and more
Co-owning 100 Thieves, and becoming the first female at that, with fellow gamers and big names such as Drake, Scooter Braun, and more, Valkyrae has lived in left the 100 Thieves content house.
“It feels like a bit of a reset moving in real life, and onto YouTube,” she continued. “I’ve been gaming my entire life, but now with the move I can focus on beauty, fitness, and as well as everything with 100 Thieves. I couldn’t be more excited.”
Valkyrae, Dexerto
Valkyrae still does collaboration with 100 Thieves. With more time and personal space within her reach, Valkyrae has accomplished more outside the streaming industry.
Valkyrae shot videos with MGK and Corpse’s “DAYWALKER!” and Bella Poarch’s “Build a B*itch”, “Inferno”, and “Dolls”.
Valkyrae has also reconnected with her Filipino heritage with the help of her mother and her fellow content creator and music artist Bella Poarch.
Just a few months ago, Valkyrae kept her fans on their toes by tweeting a teasing and cryptic tweet about a certain future project.
You’re probably just as curious and excited as we are!
What with Valkyrae’s streams, life vlogs, and this mysterious project, her fans just crave more of the positive energy and impact Valkyrae gives to her loyal fans.