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Original Author: 庭庭迴旋踢 Edited by: VIVERSE Team
For the past three years, HTC’s VIVE Post-Wavehas closely followed the rise of virtual creators—VTubers, virtual idols, and beyond—forecasting them as the next major wave in content creation.That forecast just became fact. YouTube’s newly released 2025 Culture & Trends Report places virtual creators center stage, recognizing them as a defining force in global digital media.
Supporting this shift, recent data from Streams Charts confirms what many fans already feel: virtual creators are no longer niche. Their influence shows up in rising watch hours, increasing platform dominance, and explosive audience reach.
In 2020, fewer than half of YouTube users were open to watching virtual creators. But by 2024, 57% of viewers aged 14–44 had watched VTuber or other virtual creator content within the past year—a leap in mainstream adoption.
That popularity is backed by numbers:
Check out this Hatsune Miku song released earlier this year—already surpassing 60 million views.
As seen in our previous post, VTuber Rigging 101, virtual creators are evolving—and YouTube’s 2025 report helps categorize them:
According to Streams Charts’ Q1 2025 ranking of top female streamers, 8 out of the top 10 are VTubers. Only Valkyrae (#3) and Emiru (#7) are real-life streamers.
| Rank | Name | Watch Hours (millions) | Type | Affiliation |
| 1 | Usada Pekora | 140 | VTuber | hololive JP |
| 2 | Sakura Miko | 126.7 | VTuber | hololive JP |
| 3 | Valkyrae | 57.1 | Human | 100 Thieves |
| 4 | Shirogane Noel〔博衣小夜璃〕 | 54.7 | VTuber | hololive JP |
| 5 | ironmouse | 53.7 | VTuber | VShojo |
| 6 | Subaru Oozora | 53.4 | VTuber | hololive JP |
| 7 | Emiru | 49.4 | Human | OTK |
| 8 | 〔戌神沁音〕Inugami Korone | 48.7 | VTuber | hololive JP |
| 9 | 〔綺綺羅羅薇薇〕Kikirara Vivi | 47.6 | VTuber | hololive JP |
| 10 | Koseki Bijou | 47.4 | VTuber | hololive JP |
Across platforms—YouTube, Twitch, Kick, and Korea’s SOOP—VTuber content hit 500 million watch hours in Q1 2025, an all-time high.
This happened even as the number of active VTubers dropped below 6,000, signaling a shift toward elite, high-performing talent and platform maturity.
While VTubers excel at engaging fans live, the real business model lies in IP-driven monetization—merchandise, games, and licensing.
Livestreaming? Still powerful at ¥9.3 billion JPY (approx. $63 million USD), but that’s only part of the story.
Unlike human creators, VTuber avatars are scalable brands. They can become plushies, mobile games, cafe pop-ups, even NFT drops—without the physical burnout.
Sure, being a VTuber isn’t all sparkles and fanart. Burnout and mental health concerns are real. But the aspiration remains strong:
A 2025 Nifty Kids survey found that 23.2% of children want to be VTubers—more than those who want to be traditional YouTubers (18.1%).
It makes sense. This is a generation raised in Minecraft, Roblox, and FaceTime. To them, digital-first expression isn’t strange; it’s second nature.
So, if your child says they want to be a virtual creator? Don’t be surprised. They’re probably already building worlds and rehearsing behind the screen.
Explore our beginner’s guide:
VTuber Rigging 101: How to Bring Your Virtual Persona to Life
