VTubers Caught Using Viewbotting

If you are a streamer, you probably know a service called King Engine that increases the number of people watching your streams or videos — except the “people” are actually bots.

It turns out that King Engine was shut down in mid-March, and VTuber fans noticed something quite curious: the number of viewers watching certain VTubers’ livestreams dropped significantly!

And it seems that most of them were VTubers associated with the Nijisanji agency. Someone even compiled a table showing the drop experienced by some VTubers.

The table shows the VTuber’s name, their average viewership in February, then their average in March — when King Engine shut down — and finally the percentage drop in views.

Take VTuber Finana as an example (who I actually watch, by the way!). In February, her average was 790 viewers per stream, but in March it dropped to 260! And the worst part is that I noticed this drop but never thought it was because of bots.

That explains why her chat feels so dead! Since I actively watch Finana (especially because she’s playing Hundred Line, which I also played), I can clearly see that the number of viewers doesn’t match the amount of chat activity.

Why Do VTubers Use Bots to Increase Their Audience?

Money — that’s an easy one. It’s all about money

According to Dokibird, companies don’t pay streamers based on subscriber count or history, but rather on how many people are watching them.

For example, if one VTuber has 8,000 viewers during a stream and another has 400, companies will choose based on those numbers when deciding where to advertise. The VTuber with 8,000 viewers will earn significantly more than the one with 400.

And that’s why VTubers pay bot services — to inflate their numbers and deceive advertisers, allowing them to earn more money!