Impact of Virtual Avatars on Live Streaming Performance

The development of the Internet and mobile environments has made live streaming popular.Accordingly, virtual avatars based on the metaverse are gradually being introduced for live streaming.Creating a virtual avatar requires a large investment.However, it is necessary to consider introducing virtual avatars to stream content.In the live streaming ecosystem, where the introduction of virtual avatars is increasingly necessary, there is a need to measure the impact of the virtual avatars and provide information for investment.Therefore, in this study, the status of live streaming using virtual avatars was analyzed.In this study, live streaming data were collected using the API provided by Twitch.Subsequently, the use of virtual avatars was qualitatively selected using specific keywords, and the status was quantitatively analyzed in terms of streaming hours and number of viewers.The results showed that 1,740 streamers used virtual avatars.Game category streamers using virtual avatars had shorter streaming hours, whereas the Just Chatting category streamers had longer.Additionally, for affiliated streamers, the number of viewers was higher when a virtual avatar was used.In other words, the impact of the virtual avatar varies depending on the broadcast content and situation of the streamer.Therefore, when introducing a virtual avatar to live streaming, it is necessary to consider the streamer's style and situation.This study provides academic implications for research on virtual avatars and practical implications for streamers and industries who want to invest in virtual avatars.