TikTok has created it’s fair share of social media trends over the last few years, but NPC Streamers are definitely up there as one of the weirdest. PinkyDoll is arguably the most popular NPC Streamer at the moment and if you tune into one of their lives, you’ll undoubtedly find it quite strange, confusing, and maybe even a little funny.
To explain what NPC Streaming is, at its core, is incredibly hard. Think about a personality going live on TikTok simply to repeat the same phrases over and over based on how the viewers are interacting with their show.
The ultimate goal is to come across as someone who isn’t human, hence the use of the term NPC (non-playable character), which is a reference to video game characters that you interact with but who just, exist, within the world but only come alive when called upon by the main character.
Not only is this proving to be an incredibly lucrative venture for PinkyDoll – who now has over 550,000 followers – thanks to the monetization of TikTok live which allows viewers to donate directly to her, but it has spawned a whole new category of streaming within TikTok itself.
We’re fairly sure it won’t be long until this category bleeds over into the likes of Twitch too. Granted, hot tub streaming has hardly left Twitch so maybe each platform will have it’s only special little corner where no one would dare wish to be caught consuming content as both are very strange and center around the objectification of women in an online space.
With ongoing debates regarding the implementation of AI across Hollywood and the world of journalism, it was admittedly quite amusing to see so many people unsure as to whether PinkyDoll was, in fact, just an interesting form of AI used as a way to cause a stir and get people talking.
If you take the time to look at some of their non-live content, it’s clear that PinkyDoll is very aware of their current popularity and innovative new streaming concept.
Will it last or is this just another flash in the pan trend that will go the way of the tide pod and the mannequin challenge or will NPC Streaming consume the future of TikTok? (we really hope not).