YouTube Data: Gaming Pulls 66M Average Views But Zero Median Engagement
Gaming dominated YouTube views with a 66 million average this week, but pulled exactly 0.00 percent median engagement. Here is what the data from 723 posts across five niches shows.
Gaming videos averaged 66 million views this week, but their median engagement rate was exactly 0.00 percent. The proprietary tool ContentScout analyzed 723 public posts from the week of August 14, 2026, to understand how different formats perform across YouTube.
Gaming Leads in Views but Fails on Engagement
The gaming niche dominated YouTube screens this week with 175 sampled posts pulling in an average of 66 million views. Despite this massive reach, the median engagement rate sat at 0.00 percent, a number that indicates viewers are watching these short clips without leaving comments, likes, or shares.
This format relies entirely on silent gameplay loops to capture fast scrolls. The top post in this category was titled "So funny 🤣 #shorts". While gaming-related terms dominated, the most popular tags reveal a heavy focus on quick-looping vertical video. The gaming trending posts show how short-form content drives these numbers. For hashtags, #shorts led with 146 million average views, followed by #car at 71 million average views, #racing at 55 million average views, #short at 46 million average views, and #youtubeshorts at 32 million average views. The data suggests that car-related racing shorts are performing far better than standard gameplay uploads in our sample.
Food Content Keeps Viewers Talking
Food and cooking posts achieved a median engagement rate of 2.73 percent, the highest of all five niches measured this week. Across 100 sampled posts, the average view count reached 11 million. Audiences are far more active in this niche than in gaming, frequently interacting with recipe posts and food demonstrations.
This content succeeds by focusing on close-up preparation shots instead of host commentary. The top-performing post was "The end of an era #cooking #food #foodasmr #recipe", which reached 44 million views. Much of this interest focuses on auditory and visual details, as seen in the food trending posts list. The hashtag #foodasmr led with 34 million average views, while #trending followed at 14 million average views. Other top hashtags included #dessert at 13 million average views, #cake at 12 million average views, and #food at 12 million average views. Audiences are clearly drawn to dessert and baking content, which outperformed general cooking tags.
Travel Hacks Generate Massive Individual Hits
The travel niche recorded an average of 5 million views across 159 posts, with a median engagement rate of 0.97 percent. While the average is lower than gaming or food, a single viral video dominated the entire dataset.
The video presents a practical airport hack that addresses a common traveler frustration. The standout post was "Luggage weight back ✈️ #travel #luggage #travelhacks #airport #traveling", which earned 320 million views. This single upload outperformed the average of every other niche by a wide margin. In the travel trending posts, specific utility-focused tags performed best. The hashtag #luggage gained 161 million average views, #traveling had 54 million average views, #airport hit 46 million average views, #travelhacks got 34 million average views, and #airplane ended with 20 million average views. Viewers are actively seeking out practical airport tips over aspirational travel guides.
Tech and AI Audiences Watch Miniatures
Tech and AI content brought in 2.3 million average views across 144 sampled posts. The median engagement rate was low at 0.07 percent. Instead of traditional hardware reviews, the top post focused on generated imagery.
The clip uses hyper-realistic rendering to capture passive interest. The top post, "The cutest little animals #cuteanimals #ai #minianimals#shorts", pulled in 69 million views. The tech and AI trending posts indicate a strong audience preference for sensory and unusual topics over technical tutorials. The hashtag #asmr led the niche with 12 million average views. Other top tags included #college with 8.5 million average views, #trending with 7.5 million average views, #baby with 6.6 million average views, and #shorts with 6.5 million average views. This suggests tech channels are gaining traction by applying AI tools to lifestyle and study contexts rather than purely reviewing gadgets.
Finance Content Drives Engagement Through Comedy
Finance and business posts generated the lowest average views at 1.5 million across 145 sampled posts. However, the median engagement rate was 0.92 percent, which is nearly ten times higher than tech and infinitely higher than gaming.
This sketch-style video explains complex transactional concepts with humor. The top post was "The $65M Swipe That Saved $1.3M 💰✨ #shorts #moneytips #trendingshorts #success #trending", which gathered 12 million views. Comedy is a major driver of attention here, as detailed in the finance and business trending posts data. The hashtag #trending pulled 6 million average views, while #comedy took second place with 2.9 million average views. The other top tags were #business at 1.9 million average views, #shorts at 1.8 million average views, and #investment at 1.4 million average views. Humorous delivery gets way more eyes in this sector than dry investment advice.
Adjust your publishing strategy by choosing between reach and community interaction. If your goal is high active engagement, model your structure after the food and cooking format, which uses sensory cues to drive its 2.73 percent engagement rate. If you need raw view volume, focus on short-form loops like the travel hacks that averaged millions of views this week.