A Virtual YouTuber, sometimes called VTuber, is a content creator and personality that utilizes a 3D or 2D digital avatar for online videos and/or livestreaming, often assuming a character as well. Despite the name, content is not limited to YouTube, and often, a VTuber is someone who declares themselves as such.

The term was first popularized by Kizuna Ai, who called herself "the world's first virtual YouTuber". Many others followed suit, and the explosion in popularity of the practice lead the term to be used even outside of YouTube, though variations on the term have been introduced as to diminish the use of the brand name, including "VTuber", "Virtual Singer"/"VSinger" (for those that exclusively do music, not be confused with Vocaloid China), and "Virtual Liver"/"VLiver" (specifically referring to virtual streamers) or "Virtual Streamer"/"VStreamer" (due to the former term reminding folks of the organ in English). In Chinese, the term "Virtual Uploader"/"VUP" is used more commonly alongside "VTuber", after being first coined by Xiao Xi on Bilibili. In English, terms such as "PNGTuber" and "GIFTuber" also exist to refer to VTubers whose models use those formats, now that they are no longer the norm among indies (that had no access to 3D models back in the day). In Japan, the term "VLiver" is also used to refer creators and companies in the 'walled garden app' niche, such as IRIAM and AniLive, apps which viewers use to watch VTubers who stream exclusively on them.

This tag should apply to not only virtual YouTubers themselves, but also to parodies of virtual YouTubers, references to them, fictitious virtual YouTubers, fake virtual YouTubers, and concept art that ultimately isn't used (for the latter three, original should be used). While tagging mascots and staff with the tag is fine, family members and friends of VTubers don't apply, unless they too are VTubers, nor do things merely associated with VTubers.

See also

• Indie Virtual YouTuber (for use with solo indies)
• List of virtual YouTubers
• utaite

External links

• Pixiv Encyclopedia: Virtual YouTuber
• UserLocal (JP Database): virtual-youtuber.userlocal.jp
• Moegirl article (Chinese): Virtual Uploader
• Namuwiki article (Korean): Virtual YouTuber
• MoguraVR's VTuber article section (Japanese) : VTuber
• MoguraVR article (Oct. 2022): moguravr.com/vtuber-management-companies-list

The following tags are aliased to this tag: vtuber (learn more).

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