New York, New York - Influencer Kai Cenat has been charged with rioting after his New York give-away event descended into violence on Friday, New York police said.

The 21-year-old drew a massive crowd to Union Square with promises that he would give away PlayStation 5 consoles.

Word of the event went viral and thousands turned up, pelting police with bottles and debris and stomping and dancing on cars.

An estimated 1,000 police officers responded to the unrest, which left some people injured.

Cenat was also charged with inciting a riot and unlawful assembly, an NYPD spokesperson told AFP, and four others were also charged with felonies.

A Bronx resident, Cenat is massively popular online, with 6.5 million followers on the game streaming site Twitch and four million followers on YouTube.

Friday's unrest started with an Instagram post, with Cenat calling on fans to meet him in Union Square for a live-streamed event where he would hand out the gaming consoles.

As many as 5,000 young people reportedly turned, filling the square and in surrounding streets in the hopes of seeing the influencer, before the scene turned chaotic, with young men kicking and smashing nearby cars.

"There were a lot of people, it was uncontrolled... a lot of young people got hurt," New York City Police Chief Jeffrey Maddrey said at a press briefing.