culture
Some of the world's most-watched livestreamers never show their real faces—instead they perform as animated avatars whose expressions and movements are driven in real time by motion capture.
VTubers is the term for these avatar-based online entertainers. Short for 'virtual YouTubers,' they perform as animated 2D or 3D characters whose facial expressions and body movements are driven in real time by motion-capture technology tracking the real performer, letting them stream, sing, or chat with an audience while their actual identity and face stay hidden behind the digital persona.
Speedrunners are players who race to complete video games as fast as possible, an entirely different kind of content, and cosplayers dress up as characters using physical costumes rather than digital avatars driven by motion capture, so neither term describes this specific format.
The VTuber format exploded first in Japan before spreading worldwide, and talent agencies built around the format, such as Hololive, grew large enough to produce some of the most-watched and highest-earning channels on the entire platform, entirely through characters whose human performers remain anonymous.
culture
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