VTubing Grows Globally in 2025, Driven by Short-Form Platforms and Corporate Sponsorships
2min read Virtual YouTubers, or VTubers, have gained significant popularity in recent years, particularly in Japan and other Asian countries. These digital content creators use computer-generated avatars to produce videos or live content, engaging with audiences through livestreams, games, podcasts, and more. The trend is slowly spreading across the world, making VTubing an increasingly global phenomenon.
A VTuber is a real person behind a digital avatar, blending performance, storytelling, and creativity to connect with audiences. These avatars are often animated in real-time using motion tracking and face capture, creating an online personality that can look like anime characters, animals, robots, or even abstract creatures. The technology behind avatars, known as motion capture or mocap, records a person’s movements using sensors to create realistic animations for virtual characters in games, movies, or virtual reality. This technology converts real-world movement into digital 3D data for more lifelike animation.
Becoming a VTuber involves several key steps. The process begins with designing a unique avatar, which can be 2D or 3D, using specialized software such as Live2D Cubism for 2D models and Blender, Viverse Avatar, or Vroid Studio for 3D models. The choice between 2D and 3D depends on the desired level of detail and animation. After designing the avatar, the next step is rigging, which involves adding bones and joints to enable movement. This process is done using rigging software like Live2D or VUP for 2D and tools like VSeeFace for 3D models. These tools allow the virtual avatar to replicate the performer’s movements, making the character blink, talk, and gesture in real-time. Face-tracking mocap software such as VTube Studio or VSeeFace is used to track facial expressions and animate the performer’s movements.
Once the virtual avatar has been designed and animated, the VTuber can start creating livestream content. Livestreaming on platforms like YouTube and Twitch, as well as gaming streams, can be realized using software like OBS Studio or Streamlabs OBS. To edit pre-recorded videos, creators rely on software such as DaVinci Resolve or adobe Premiere Pro. Additionally, voice changers like Voicemod or MagicVox can help modify the creator’s voice to match their avatar. Custom graphics and overlays can be created using tools like Photoshop or Canva. The power of the virtual avatar to have real-time conversations with the audience is a unique feature of VTubing. Building a credible brand is essential to becoming a successful VTuber, just like it is for other types of content creation. This means creating a unique character or identity for the virtual avatar and creating content that appeals to the intended audience.
In 2025, VTubing success often starts with short-form mobile platforms like TikTok and YouTube Shorts. Cross-posting to Discord, X, or Twitch helps build community and drive monetization. Aspiring VTubers should be aware of risks like burnout, privacy breaches, platform dependency, and unpredictable income. The VTuber space continues to grow rapidly in 2025, with better tools, bigger audiences, and even corporate sponsorships. However, aspiring creators should be aware of the risks involved, including burnout and creative fatigue, privacy and doxxing threats, platform dependency, monetization challenges, high upfront costs, intense market competition, and AI impersonation and deepfakes. Success in VTubing requires more than just a good avatar; it demands creative freedom, global reach, and new career paths, but it’s not without challenges. From financial risks to mental strain and evolving tech threats, success requires both passion and preparedness.
