Book review: Streaming by the Rest of Us: Microstreaming Videogames on Twitch

Streaming by the Rest of Us: Microstreaming Videogames on Twitch offers a careful and grounded study of livestreaming that shifts attention away from highly visible and professional creators toward the everyday practices of microstreamers. Rather than focussing on streamers with large audiences or commercial success, the book examines those who stream to small and often changing audiences, usually from zero to a few dozen viewers at a time. Its central contribution lies in reframing livestreaming not primarily as digital labour, but as a form of leisure shaped by platform design, cultural norms, and everyday social interaction. In doing so, the book challenges dominant narratives that link platform participation mainly to growth, visibility, and monetisation.