Virtual YouTubers have garnered increasing fame in recent years, but with multiple big graduations and prominent agency closures worrying fans, some have begun to wonder if the vtuber industry is truly at risk of dying.
Virtual streamers were once considered a very specific niche, but have in recent years become massively popular. Vtubers are all the rage, from being showcased in more mainstream media to going toe-to-toe with the most popular traditional streamers online. Yet despite top vtubers becoming better-known and finding new success at the highest levels online, fans are worried that the industry as a whole may be in trouble.
Famous vtubers including Gawr Gura and Amelia Watson have shocked fans by graduating from their respective agencies. Popular vtuber Ironmouse revealed financial misconduct at prominent agency VShojo, and that agency has since ceased operations entirely. As such things continue to pile up, and the vtuber world sees artists leave seemingly every month, does this all really indicate that the vtuber industry is in decline?
Multiple prominent vtuber graduations and the dissolution of one of the world’s biggest vtuber agency have given fans concern that indicate the vtubing world is slowly dying out, or at the very least that it could be in decline.
Gawr Gura was one of the most popular vtubers in the industry, proven by the approximate five million followers she had on YouTube. Her graduation wasn’t sudden for her most loyal fans who had seen it for a long time coming, as the vtuber’s differences with management at the Hololive agency and her erratic streaming schedule led viewers to expect her stepping back. Most fans weren’t even surprised when she later returned as an independent vtuber to create content without an agency’s limitations and guidelines. A new dialogue was opened up as a result, with many fans wondering whether agencies are even beneficial for talents.
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Another big jolt the vtuber industry received was the VShojo agency being accused of misappropriating funds. VShojo was touted as being a “talent-first” agency, but it couldn’t protect itself from controversy at its very peak. The company’s CEO admitted that it was stealing from its talents because it was running out of money. The ensuing chaos saw a mass exodus of those very talents before the agency was ultimately shut down.
Vtuber agency Nijisanji has been in the news frequently for allegedly failing to stop harassment of its vtubers. Twisty Amanozako is an ex-Nijisanji talent who became a whistleblower when the vtuber called out the agency for failing to protect her from another talent, Aster Arcadia. She was eventually terminated, and Aster Arcadia later left the agency as well.
Multiple other talents of note, such as Ceres Fauna and Sakamata Chloe, have left their respective agencies to go independent. And these are just a few particularly prominent examples of the shift the vtuber industry has seen in recent times.
While it could be argued that vtubing agencies will cease to be as important as they once were in the vtuber world, the attention that vtubers, including those who go independent, continue to receive from fans will likely ensure that the industry continues to thrive for the foreseeable future.
The vtuber industry has seen massive growth in recent years with numerous content creators coming further into the limelight. Ironmouse may be the best example of a vtuber whose popularity transcended vtubing and broke into something akin to mainstream popular culture. She rose on such a massive level that she was featured at Times Square in New York City, broke multiple Twitch records, and collaborated on a song with mainstream artist bbno$. This may be considered increasingly normal for the biggest traditional streamers, but it was a notable series of accomplishments for a vtuber.
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There has been a string of graduations and agency closures recently, stressing fans and followers. But these things are eventually to be expected, as the vtuber industry is ultimately a business. Businesses see closures, mergers, and staffs go their separate ways. It may speak to potential core issue with agencies, but doesn’t necessarily indicate a larger problem that could threaten the entire vtuber industry.
VShojo’s situation, while unfortunate, doesn’t affect the entire industry and isn’t itself a prominent indicator of vtubing being in danger. Talents such as Kson and AmaLee left the company but have continued to stream independently. VShojo may continue making waves in the news, but numerous former VShojo talents have already managed their transitions to independent streaming.
Vtuber content consumption has been increasing consistently, and in Q1 2025, it reached a high of over 500 million hours watched by fans. YouTube also acknowledged the rise of virtual YouTubers in an official report, through which the online content giant revealed that a set of 300 vtubers had brought in 15 billion views in 2024 alone.
Mordor Intelligence published a report stating the current market size of vtubers is set at an amazing 2.86 billion USD. The firm predicts the number will increase to 4.5 billion USD by 2030, and Mordor Intelligence’s prediction aligns with Hololive’s stated plans as the agency is attempting to further expand its footprint in Western markets. Cover Corp CEO Motoaki “Yagoo” Tanigo spoke to how much of the vtuber industry had focused primarily on Asian markets, but companies now understand that virtual YouTubers have become more popular worldwide and that this popularity means more chances for growth.
That growth requires focusing more of its streaming and marketing power towards new markets. And while there’s certainly the potential for disruption as part of that new push, it’s a disruptive force that could very well lead to explosive growth for the industry.
Worried fans who assumed that the vtuber industry would die out likely have little to worry about for now. Many nascent forms of entertainment, online and off, have gone through ups and downs as they’ve grown, and vtubers as a whole look to be headed firmly upwards and onwards despite a few notable setbacks here and there.
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