DWANGO Shuts Down VTuber and Let's Play Companies

Kez Ağustos 31, 2021

VTubers are everywhere nowadays, but it looks like DWANGO—owners of niconico and a major force behind the propagation of the virtual YouTube phenomenons—is closing up shop in at least one or two arenas.

It's been announced that Lide, Inc. was shut down late last month. The company, a merger between DWANGO, Kadokawa, Studio Khara, and others, was established to create new content centered on the VTuber scene. Their output prior to closing included the singing contest NHK no Virtual nodo Jiman and the winter anime VIRTUALSAN - LOOKING.

Also closing down is Watanabe Amaduction, which focused on helping Japanese Let's Play hosts gain notoriety via appearances on TV, radio, and other more traditional media. The company also owned the VTuber Yuu-ham.

The dissolution of Lide, Inc. is dated as happening on April 15, making it contemporary with the official launch of TUNEDiD. The new company, also owned by DWANGO, has as its focal point Tokyo's largest motion-capture studio. The new facility is capable of capturing footage for upwards of 10 performers, which can be used either for animation or live mo-cap. The combination of closings and openings could mean DWANGO is looking to outsource its mo-cap resources rather than bank on internal projects.

The VTuber scene continues to grow meanwhile, with more and more contenders entering the field thanks to free and low-priced software.

Source: MoguraVR News

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Kara Dennison is a writer, editor, and interviewer with bylines at VRV, We Are Cult, Fanbyte, and many more. She is also the co-founder of Altrix Books and co-creator of the OEL light novel series Owl's Flower. Kara blogs at karadennison.com and tweets @RubyCosmos.