VTubers have become a measurable part of online video, entertainment, and character-driven media. A 2024 global sample of 300 virtual creators generated more than 15 billion YouTube views, while COVER reports 25 billion total views across hololive production channels. The figures below show how that reach connects to subscribers, publishing volume, merchandise, events, and international audiences.
Contents
- YouTube reach of virtual creators
- hololive production’s current agency scale
- hololive subscriber and channel growth
- Content output and fan engagement
- VTuber monetization and revenue mix
- International audiences and debut performance
YouTube reach of virtual creators
The broadest figure in this collection comes from YouTube’s culture and trends research. Its 2024 measurement covered a sample of 300 virtual creators globally, rather than attempting to count every VTuber. Across videos, livestreams, and Shorts, that sample generated more than 15 billion views during 2024. Viewers in the United States accounted for 1 billion of those views. These numbers describe a selected creator sample, so they should be read as a measure of activity and reach within the sample, not as the total size of the worldwide VTuber audience. (The rise of virtual creators: a new frontier on YouTube)
COVER’s own promotion figures describe a separate, company-level footprint. As stated on the promotion page in 2026, COVER reports 80 billion in total media reach for its advertising projects. It also reports 25 billion total YouTube views across hololive production channels and 45 VTubers with at least 1 million subscribers. Those totals use COVER’s stated definitions and are not directly interchangeable with YouTube’s 2024 sample measurement. (Promotion | COVER Corp.)
Together, the figures show two useful scales. The YouTube sample indicates that virtual creators can generate billions of views across multiple formats in one year. COVER’s figures show how a large production company can build a much larger cumulative channel footprint over time through a network of creators and channels.
hololive production’s current agency scale
COVER’s June 2026 hololive production breakdown lists 78 total VTubers across its groups. The six group counts shown in that breakdown are 30, 14, 9, 6, 10, and 9. The counts sum to the listed total of 78, but the group names and the individual distribution are more useful than treating the roster as a single undifferentiated number: the largest group contains 30 VTubers, while the smallest contains 6. (VTuber Production | COVER Corp.)
The same June 2026 page lists 95.2 million total subscribers across hololive production’s YouTube channels. This is a network total, not a count of unique people. One viewer may subscribe to several channels, and the total includes the channel structure reported by COVER. It is therefore best used as a measure of accumulated channel subscriptions rather than a direct estimate of the fan population.
| Measure | Reported figure | Measurement period |
|---|---|---|
| hololive production VTubers | 78 | June 2026 |
| hololive production YouTube subscribers | 95.2 million | June 2026 |
| COVER VTubers with at least 1 million subscribers | 45 | As stated on the 2026 promotion page |
| hololive production YouTube views | 25 billion | As stated on the 2026 promotion page |
These current scale figures should not be blended with earlier investor-deck figures without preserving their dates. The June 2026 roster and subscriber total describe a later point than the historical growth series, which ends at FY2023/3 Q3.
hololive subscriber and channel growth
COVER’s historical series tracks aggregated YouTube channel subscribers across fiscal reporting periods. The total was 1.0 million in FY2019/3, 6.1 million in FY2020/3, 37.3 million in FY2021/3, and 61.4 million in FY2022/3. By FY2023/3 Q3, the cumulative figure had reached 72.4 million. These are aggregated channel subscribers, so they are not deduplicated viewers. (Materials for Growth Opportunities and Strategies)
| COVER aggregated YouTube subscribers | Period |
|---|---|
| 1.0 million | FY2019/3 |
| 6.1 million | FY2020/3 |
| 37.3 million | FY2021/3 |
| 61.4 million | FY2022/3 |
| 72.4 million | FY2023/3 Q3 |
The series is notable for the change in scale between reporting points, but the periods are not all the same length. FY2023/3 Q3 is a nine-month cumulative period rather than a full fiscal year. The investor materials also report total revenue of 136 million JPY in FY2019/3, 1,479 million JPY in FY2020/3, 5,724 million JPY in FY2021/3, 13,663 million JPY in FY2022/3, and 12,802 million JPY by FY2023/3 Q3. That last figure should not be compared with a full-year total as though it covered twelve months.
Content output and fan engagement
The same COVER materials provide a view of the publishing engine behind channel growth. From September 2017 through December 31, 2022, COVER counted 63,000 cumulative streaming videos across its VTuber, sub, and official channels. The cumulative streaming-video count was up 48% year over year at December 31, 2022. Over the same cumulative period, the channels recorded 9.8 billion views, with cumulative channel views up 59% year over year at that date. (Materials for Growth Opportunities and Strategies)
Engagement also appeared outside YouTube. Official Twitter hashtags related to COVER’s VTubers were mentioned 123 million times in FY2022/3. COVER shipped 1.05 million goods in FY2022/3 Q3, showing how fan activity connected to physical products as well as video views.
Short-form and character-focused content produced additional measurable results. COVER’s Holo Graffiti 3D-animation channel had 184 videos and 28 million views as of December 31, 2022. On TikTok, the #HoushouMarine hashtag had approximately 290 million views as of January 11, 2023, while #SakamataChloe had approximately 73 million views on the same measurement date. The TikTok figures are hashtag-view counts, not necessarily views of official uploads by the creators.
These statistics describe several different kinds of activity: video inventory, cumulative views, social mentions, physical shipments, and hashtag views. They should be kept as separate indicators. None by itself measures audience size, retention, or the number of unique fans.
VTuber monetization and revenue mix
COVER’s revenue history shows the commercial expansion of its VTuber business. Total revenue rose from 136 million JPY in FY2019/3 to 1,479 million JPY in FY2020/3, 5,724 million JPY in FY2021/3, and 13,663 million JPY in FY2022/3. It stood at 12,802 million JPY by FY2023/3 Q3, a nine-month cumulative period.
| Revenue category | FY2019/3 | FY2020/3 | FY2021/3 | FY2022/3 | FY2023/3 Q3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total revenue | 136m JPY | 1,479m JPY | 5,724m JPY | 13,663m JPY | 12,802m JPY |
| Streaming/content | 75m JPY | 595m JPY | 2,633m JPY | 5,249m JPY | 4,598m JPY |
| Concerts/events | 11m JPY | 195m JPY | 814m JPY | 2,203m JPY | 1,241m JPY |
| Merchandising | 30m JPY | 567m JPY | 1,847m JPY | 4,832m JPY | 5,262m JPY |
The categories illustrate a diversified model. Streaming and content revenue reached 5,249 million JPY in FY2022/3, while concerts and events reached 2,203 million JPY. Merchandising reached 4,832 million JPY in FY2022/3 and 5,262 million JPY by FY2023/3 Q3. Since the final column is a nine-month cumulative period, it should not be treated as a full-year forecast or annualized estimate.
COVER also reported 200 million JPY in yearly revenue per VTuber for FY2022/3. That is a company-reported average-style benchmark for the stated fiscal year, not a claim that every creator generated the same amount. It also does not establish an individual creator’s income, because company revenue includes multiple business activities and costs.
International audiences and debut performance
International viewing is a significant part of the reported audience picture. COVER stated that overseas viewers accounted for 29% of viewership on hololive JP channels as of December 31, 2022. hololive English channels had 1.6 billion total views by that date. Overseas sales represented 30% of COVER’s e-commerce sales in FY2022/3 Q3. These percentages measure particular channel or sales scopes, so they should not be generalized to every VTuber agency or platform. (Materials for Growth Opportunities and Strategies)
ANYCOLOR’s 2024 promotion page says that more than 10,000 VTubers were active in Japan alone. Its July 2024 figures for NIJISANJI EN describe more than 30 VTubers and over 13 million YouTube channel subscribers. The group had more than 819 million total views as of June 2024. These are source-stated thresholds and should be read as “more than” figures, not exact totals. (PROMOTION | ANYCOLOR Inc.)
Debut performance can also be substantial in an established network. In COVER’s reported YouTube Analytics benchmark, newer hololive VTuber channels had more than 100,000 subscribers at debut, and the same benchmark recorded 111,000 concurrent viewers during the debut livestream. The benchmark was stated as of December 31, 2022; it is not a universal expectation for all VTuber debuts.
Taken together, these measurements show why VTuber statistics need careful labels. A global 2024 sample, a June 2026 agency roster, fiscal-year revenue, cumulative channel views, hashtag views, and debut benchmarks all answer different questions. Keeping the source, geography, threshold, and measurement date attached to each number makes the resulting picture more useful for understanding virtual creators and the design of the avatars that represent them.