Becoming a content creator isn’t as easy as many think, but what if you could travel back in time to when the virtual avatar craze was just taking off? That’s exactly the premise of BuzztteVTuber: Go Viral in 2018?!, a quirky simulator developed by Wataritama Studio that has just launched a completely free demo on Steam to test if you truly have what it takes to succeed in live streams.

The game’s premise transports you directly to 2018, a key year where pioneering figures like Kizuna AI were already a major phenomenon and giant agencies like Hololive or Nijisanji were just beginning to take their first steps. In the role of a newbie streamer with zero followers, your goal is to go viral over the course of a full year. To achieve this, you’ll need to manage five core skills: conversation, production, video games, illustration, and singing, adapting your streams to weekly trends to gain viewers and visits.

The most striking aspect of this proposal is that it’s not just a static game. If you already stream or have your own digital image, the game lets you import your virtual camera or signals directly from programs like OBS and VTube Studio to see your own avatar broadcasting within the game. If you don’t have one, that’s fine too, as the title includes default models to start your career from scratch.

The free trial covers the first 26 weeks of adventure or until you reach 5,000 followers, with the advantage that all your progress can be transferred to the final version. Additionally, the full game will include a time jump mechanic that lets you go back in time if you fail your goals, keeping your skills but resetting your money and audience. A realism mode has also been confirmed where effort doesn’t guarantee growth, reflecting how hard it is to break into the current scene.

BuzztteVTuber: Go Viral in 2018?! is a simulation and strategy video game in development by indie studio Wataritama Studio. Its early access release is scheduled for late 2026 on PC via Steam, with support for Japanese and English languages.

The project takes as its backdrop the historic boom of 2018, a period when the number of virtual creators jumped from just over a thousand to more than six thousand in a few months, marking the mass transition from 3D videos to live streams with 2D models.

Do you think you would have made it in the golden age of virtual creators or would you have faded into obscurity?