Despite Youtube’s numerous problems in the past few years, the platform has continued to grow. Huge figures like Ninja have found wild success on both Twitch and Youtube, and gaming videos on Youtube still pull in hundreds of millions of viewers monthly. But gaming Youtubers might start to undergo changes in the next few years. Starting last year, virtual Youtubers swept Japan, and with hundreds of thousands of viewers – most of which are Japanese – they just might lead to a new trend here in the states.

Often known as yuuchubas, virtual Youtubers have existed since as early as 2015, but it was only last year that the population of yuuchubas ballooned into massive heights. The virtual Youtubers use a technology that has been around for many years which captures real life expressions and actions and translates them onto anime girl personas. While popular for vlog and traditional Youtubers, the virtual stars have also started breaking into gaming.

It has also become popular for many of these Youtubers to either hire subbers or dubbers to retread old videos and make them approachable for English speaking audiences. Siro – a once popular yuuchuba – even dubs her own videos in English after fans have told her what the English translation is.

Japan has often been on the frontier of digital trends, but few countries have followed their lead. Vocaloid, a voice synthesizer software, created Hatsune Miku back in 2016, a completely digital idol that has released singles, performed concerts and swept the country. Despite Japan’s love for Miku and vocaloid in general, the fandom regarding it has never reached far into international territory, which may also be the case for digital Youtubers.

For instance, Siro has been heavily criticized by some fans for dubbing over her videos in an attempt to appeal to English speaking audiences. Her viewer count has dropped since the move was made, indicating that American audiences simply aren’t yet interested. However, it doesn’t mean that American audiences would be completely unresponsive under the right circumstances.

Many popular streamers don’t show their faces whatsoever, so a digital avatar could actually be a boon to streamers that want to avoid webcams or create unique identities. The streamer Abominable_Alien has created a successful channel cross-dressing as a woman and switching between masculine and feminine voices. It’s entirely possible that with the correct personas, virtual streamers or Youtubers could see a rise in America.

As is it stands, Japan’s idol-girl Youtubers don’t have the same appeal in America as they do back home. Under right circumstances, though, and changing the avatars could make it work. VR Chat was engaging and amusing, so the American audience leapt onto it. It was also a goldmine of memes. If digital Youtubers can offer a similar experience of amusing and entertaining, we may very well see a wave of digital content creators in the future.