It’d be an understatement to say that Virtual YouTubers, or ‘VTubers,’ have blown up in the past year. In Japan, they have quickly risen to become figures of national recognition, and there’s some serious investment going to ensure the continuation of this industry. The latest company to make a foray into the industry is Wright Flyer Live Entertainment (WFLE), who have entered with a bold plan – give anyone and everyone the tools to become a VTuber.
They plan to do this with the launch of their own Virtual YouTuber streaming service – coyly named ‘REALITY.’ The service will allow VTubers to live stream directly to subscribers with a plethora of special tools to allow more direct interaction with fans, such as “gifts” that can be given in the form of accessories and outfits. The service also easily accommodates collaborations between VTubers by allowing them to appear together on the same stream through the service – something that previously wasn’t possible unless both faces behind the avatar were together in real life.
Furthermore, WFLE plan to deliver on their promise to let anyone become a VTuber by not only giving them the tools to livestream but also by creating their avatar – something that was previously only possible by using proprietary applications. By using the ‘REALITY Avatar’ service, creators can not only create their own avatar from scratch, but this avatar will also be immediately usable in the REALITY application itself, making it even easier for fledgling VTubers to make their debut.
Although the service will be available for anyone to use, WFLE also announced their partnership with several production companies, such as Aniplex, King Records, and Bushiroad, to help find new talent through more traditional methods like auditions. Partnering with such influential companies marks a serious commitment on their part to developing the VTuber scene, and I’m sure that they’ll be able to find lots of untapped potential through their collaboration with these companies.
In general, the launch of a service specifically for VTubers was probably only a matter of time. It’s no secret that YouTuber has had its fair share of problems for creators, and it doesn’t look like that trend is going to be letting up any time soon, Whether or not WFLE’s initiative will solve these problems or not remains to be seen, but I’m certainly eager to see how it goes.
Those interested in digging even further, REALITY is available for download in Japan now via its official website.