Veteran VTuber Ironmouse has reached significant heights on Twitch as she captured the hearts of millions around the world with her singing talent and sassy personality. Since debuting in 2017, she has done entertaining collaborations with fellow Twitch streamers and earned awards for her content creation.
As one of the founding members of VShojo and one of the most-subscribed female Twitch streamers, it’s safe to say that Ironmouse knows what it takes to become a successful VTuber. This is why she’s giving other creators the opportunity to become one with the recently launched Ironmouse VTuber Academy. This game show features 14 Twitch Partner “fleshstreamers,” aka streamers who stream as their human selves, who will compete in a series of weekly challenges for a chance to win a free VTuber model.
A Deep Dive Into the Ironmouse VTuber Academy
Ironmouse VTuber Academy is a weekly talent show hosted by Ironmouse and animator Ross “RubberRoss” O’Donovan, plus other content creators who help judge the contestants. The contestants include well-known fleshstreamers, like MissGinaDarling, JimmyHere, MaryMaybe, and octopimp, who are all competing in elimination rounds to win a fully funded VTuber model of their choice. The goal of the show is for content creators to showcase their talents in various VTuber-related categories, like creating compelling lore for their characters.
Ironmouse VTuber Academy Contestants
- adrisaurus
- Altrive
- jaythebard
- Koefficient
- MaryMaybe
- octopimp
- rubensargasm
- alluux
- Imkayzie
- JimmyHere
- manlybadassherosenpai
- MissGinaDarling
- potasticp
- warwickisonline
For the uninitiated, VTubing could be perceived as a simple execution involving a virtual avatar. However, it involves a lot of financial and creative investment to create a fully realized VTuber. The avatar commission and the PC rig to run the motion capture alone could cost over $1,000, which could be a hefty price for newbies and independent creators. VTubers also create a new identity and backstory that matches their chosen character.
Ironmouse’s VTuber Academy not only makes it easier for a winning creator to get their own avatar, it also gives a glimpse of what VTubers go through and how they conceptualize their content and personas in a competitive setting. Hopefully, fans and aspiring creators who tune in to Ironmouse’s show will have more appreciation for the effort that VTubers put into their work.
Fans interested in checking out the series but missed the weekly live streams can find condensed episodes on Ironmouse’s YouTube channel.
The Highs and Lows of VTuber Success in the Streaming Space
Several VTubers have seen colossal success in the last few years, especially with the growth of global talent agencies like VShojo and Nijisanji. It’s also one of the most lucrative industries in the content creation space, estimated to be worth over $180 million based on active VTubers’ viewership and revenue alone. Many VTubers also have massive fanbases that invest money in subscriptions, merchandise, and concerts, among other things.
This is also why many popular content creators like Pokimane have dabbled in VTubing, debuting their own virtual avatars. The stark difference is that VTubers’ identities are a secret — their appearances are often modeled after anime characters, and they manufacture interesting backstories that match their persona. Apart from the fact that people know who non-VTubers are, they usually use their virtual avatars when they’re doing no-cam streams so that viewers can still see a “person” interacting with them. Regardless, both VTubers and fleshstreamers with virtual avatars have gained significant success because they consistently provide entertaining content for their dedicated fans.
Just like any entertainment-related business, it’s not always perfect in the VTuber world. There have been a number of VTubers who have gone on hiatus to focus on their health, deal with doxing threats, and those who left their agencies due to contract violations or negotiations that fell through. This is yet another layer to the content creation industry, further proving that being a VTuber isn’t as easy as some people think. Despite these issues, passionate creators still see this as a fulfilling career.
