VTubing is a trend on YouTube, Twitch and other streaming services where, instead of a usual face camera, streamers show an animated character assigned to their movements. Some track arm and head movements, but the most expensive models even map facial expressions and track the streamer’s mouth as they speak. Many VTubers use their avatars as role play and cosplay, heeding their avatar’s name and interacting with viewers in their character.
A cursory look at Apex Legends streams on Twitch reveals a number of VTubers, including “ShibuyaHAL” – who is signed to TSM as a content creator – and Scarz’ ALGS player Dan “rpr” Ušić. Together they have nearly half a million followers on Twitch. Timmy ‘iiTzTimmy’ An, one of the most popular Apex streamers, pulls in a custom Pathfinder avatar and VTubing the launch of Apex Legends’ Gaiden event, which is inspired by anime. Apex Legends and VTubing go hand in hand.
I first saw the idea of a corporate VTuber during the trailer for Lifeline’s Tales from the Outlands, which explored her background in the Frontier Wars as she tried to help wounded soldiers despite her parents’ continued funding of the war. As her Lifeline’s best friend, Octane plays a major role in the animated short, and the selfie-obsessed speedster livestreams her parents’ possible war crimes to shed some light on the unethical treatment of wounded soldiers. Octane would make a great streamer, I thought. Why hasn’t anyone done this yet? Then Apex Legends released three official VTubing avatar models.
I need to explain what I mean by the concept of a ‘corporate VTuber’. I’m talking about co-opting VTubing for advertising purposes. It’s not quite the same as a sponsored stream as the VTuber would basically embody the character they’re playing. “Watch Octane Play Apex Legends Season 14” or “Here’s Vi trying out the new League of Legends patch.” It’s part cosplay, part roleplay, part streaming and all advertising. But is this also possible? And if so, is it reality?
It is certainly a possibility to use VTube as Octane, Mirage and Bangalore as EA released the official files for this. But just streaming with an Apex avatar isn’t the same as the corporate VTubing I’m talking about. It’s like streaming in cosplay, and while it certainly promotes the game, it only does that as much as any other streamer. But will Apex hire actors or streamers in the future to build character for a new season launch or major league? It seems a possibility.
EA employed five cosplayers at the ALGS Championship earlier this month, and the IRL impersonations of Bloodhound, Caustic, Gibraltar, Revenant and Wattson provided a sense of grandeur. So why stop there? Apex esports’ Multiview feature allows viewers to see the action from every perspective, and a corporate VTuber on a commentary desk seems like the natural extension of this. Jack ‘NiceWigg’ Martin, who hosts the tournament’s B-streams, has great Octane energy, just to say.
Just as companies have jumped on cosplayers as a way to market and promote their game, I predict the same will happen to VTubers in the coming year. IRL Octanes will be jumping around Comic Con and E3 as virtual Octanes stream gameplay to viewers online. It’s only a matter of time before gaming companies jump on this latest trend and bask in the creativity of VTubers to market their products. Sure, it’ll be fun to see Octane play as himself, but it’ll still be an advertisement.
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