VTubers – a type of content creator that uses an animated virtual avatar to represent them as opposed to using their real face – has become a cultural staple over the past few years, and are typically synonymous with the anime and manga community.

One of the largest VTuber agencies in the industry, hololive production, is famous for introducing some of the biggest talents in the space, including Sakura Miko, Houshou Marine, and Usada Pekora. One of their Gen 2 talents, Minato Aqua, recently announced through X (formerly Twitter) that she would be “graduating” – or retiring – at the end of August 2024, with her graduation stream taking place on August 28.

Sadly, for fans of the content creator, this isn’t the only piece of heartbreaking news surrounding Minato Aqua in recent days.

Minato Aqua’s New Visual Novel, ‘AQUARIUM’, Has Officially Been Cancelled Following the Vtuber’s Graduation

Something that really made Minato Aqua stand out compared to other talents in hololive was the release of her Aquarium game, which originally dropped in 2022 for the Playstation 4 and Nintendo Switch before later being ported to Steam in October 2023. During the live event, “Hololive Expo 2024”, Entergram, the company behind the first Aquarium game announced a sequel was in development in March 2024.

Tragically, following Minato Aqua’s graduation announcement, Entergram swiftly followed up by stating that the game’s production had been cancelled.

While fans are understandably distraught over the news, they still expressed gratitude for the team working at Entergram on all their hard work, even if they would never be able to see the finished product.

The official Sonic the Hedgehog X (Twitter) account has revealed the Shadow the Hedgehog collaboration outfit for Korone. There will be merchandise of her, including an A4 clear folder of her posing with Shadow.

Like Korone’s past Sonic outfit where she’s wearing a hoodie that resembles the blue hedgehog, the Shadow the Hedgehog outfit puts Korone in a black hooded jacket and red sneakers. Her hair is black as well, and she has red eyes. She’s wearing asymmetrical socks in the Shadow outfit, but that doesn’t seem to have anything to do with Shadow and is more a fashion choice from her designer.

If you pre-order Sonic X Shadow Generations from certain vendors, you’ll be able to get exclusive goods of Korone in her Shadow the Hedgehog outfit. Amazon will offer an acrylic keyholder. Hanekoto, who was the main artist for Minato Aqua’s game Aquarium, drew this Korone. Meanwhile, if you purchase from Geo, you’ll be able to get a clear folder of her posing with Shadow. The Sonic Team from Sega drew this one.

Inugami Korone is one of the top Hololive VTubers, debuting in 2019 as part of GAMERS. As of the time of writing, she has over 2.1 million subscribers on her YouTube channel. As an official Sonic the Hedgehog ambassador, she has often appeared in events or collaborations with Sega to celebrate or market the blue hedgehog.

Sonic X Shadow Generations will come out on October 25, 2024 for the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch, and Windows PC via Steam.

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Hololive VTuber Inugami Korone has shared on her X (Twitter) account the boss character she designed for Lords of Exile. Many of her fans have expressed happiness that they guessed right due to the monster having many design aesthetics Korone likes.

Korone revealed the monster in a QRT of her original Tweet from February 2024, when she announced that Lords of Exile is available to purchase. She revealed that she'd secretly backed this game's Kickstarter and that she also designed one of the bosses in it. Korone then ended the Tweet, inviting players to guess which one she had made. On May 31, 2024, she acknowledged that she was late with the reveal and then showed the correct answer.

Lords of Exile is a retro-looking game that uses an 8-bit aesthetic and a linear-level design. It’s an action and platforming game in which you play as a cursed knight who seeks revenge. There are eight levels in total, with various items and skills you can obtain in order to make your journey easier. Korone tends to play retro games on stream, so her backing of Lords of Exile on its Kickstarter may not have been a surprise.

Lords of Exile is available on the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch, and Windows PC via Steam.

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Back in April 2024, Cover promised the 0.7.0 Hololive Holoearth update in May 2024 would add lifestyle updates like avatar customization, and Hololive CEO Motoaki “Yagoo” Tanigo took to social media to show these elements off. He highlighted his avatar, other players’ characters, and the customization feature.

The first photo from Tanigo’s visit to Alternative City involved a picture of him posing with four other players.

In the second picture, the Cover CEO showed what happens after a Hololive Holoearth player heads to the Altermode shop to buy and change the clothing and accessories their avatar wears. While he was wearing a black shirt with the experience’s logo and green cargo pants in the first screenshot, he’s wearing glasses and a new top, pants, and shoes in the second.

The third picture involved another close-up of his character in Holoearth. It allows someone to see the hairstyle, glasses, and shirt option more closely. Following sharing this screenshot, Motoaki Tanigo changed his official social media avatar to it.

Tanigo is often active in promoting Hololive and Holostars events and activities. In addition to typical activities such as sharing social media announcements and attending events, in the past he also served as a model for products.

There’s no exact release date for Holoearth yet, however the latest roadmap suggested the full version could end up appearing in May 2025. We do know some combat elements will arrive in 0.8.0, which is expected in June 2024. Then a 0.9.0 update will follow that later in 2024. 

The Holoearth Metaverse is in development for PCs, and the beta version is available to download.

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The next Hololive Valkyrie Connect event begins on May 17, 2024, and we now know all four Vtubers who will be a part of it. People will be able to collect playable versions of Hakui Koyori, Ookami Mio, Sakura Miko, and Yukihana Lamy. 

Koyori and Lamy were the first two characters revealed worldwide. You can see that announcement from May 8, 2024, as well as their official in-game art, below.

Brief videos appeared from both after that happened. Here’s the Koyori one:

And here’s the Lamy introduction:

Miko and Mio’s art and appearance showed up on May 10, 2024. Here is how their designs will look in-game.

Additional videos introducing them also appeared. Here’s the one starring Miko:

And here is the one starring Mio:

There were two Hololive Valkyrie Connect crossover events prior to this one, each with four Vtubers from the company involved. The first one from 2022 included Kiara Takanashi, Ninomae Ina’nis, Laplus Darkness, and Usada Pekora. A second one appeared in 2023. In that event, Nanashi Mumei, Ouro Kronii, Sakamata Chloe, and Houshou Marine appeared in the game.

Valkyrie Connect is available for PCs and mobile devices, and the next Hololive event with playable Vtubers begins on May 17, 2024. 

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Cover announced on the Hololive social media account that the visual novel game starring Kureiji Ollie will be slightly delayed. Days with Ollie will now launch on April 22, 2024 on Steam. 

This is an incredibly minor delay. The original launch date for the title is April 19, 2024. The new one is only three days later. No explanation was offered for the launch being pushed back.

Back on April 18, 2024, Ollie apologized in advance for some grammatical issues. She noted that she found some in the first chapter when playing the demo.

Ollie also noted that her collab streams involving the game will be rescheduled and she won’t be around at launch due to undisclosed personal emergencies. She did express that she is “fine,” so people wouldn’t worry.

In addition to starring in her first game, Vtuber Kureiji Ollie will soon be appearing at an event alongside other Hololive members. A concert will be held at Dreamhack Melbourne 2024 on April 27, 2024. Hakos Baelz, Calliope Mori, Houshou Marine, Tokoyami Towa, and Pavolia Reine will also perform. 

The next Hololive Vtuber game Days with Ollie will now launch for Windows PCs via Steam on April 22, 2024.

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Konami Amusement revealed new content based on Nekomata Okayu that will appear in Sound Voltex Exceed Gear. The company will add three songs performed by the Hololive Vtuber that will be permanently playable on both the arcade and PC versions of the rhythm game. It will also add Okayu as an unlockable navigator for a limited time.

The three songs featured in this collaboration will be "Mogu Mogu Yummy," "Dokuhai Swallow," and "Kamisama Nekosama." They will be available in Sound Voltex on February 22, 2024, at 10:00 AM JST. These songs will remain playable for the foreseeable future even after Konami has ended the event.

The Japanese arcade version of Sound Voltex Exceed Gear will feature a time-limited Premium Generator event that lets players obtain more content related to Nekomata Okayu. The main highlight will be Okayu herself appearing as an unlockable Nemesis Crew navigator. The generator will also include ten voice stamps featuring the Vtuber and twenty background movies for the touch panels. The exclusive content will only be available until March 22, 2024.

Nekomata Okayu will be the second Hololive Vtuber to make a major appearance in Sound Voltex after Shirakami Fubuki in late 2023. Konami had actually featured Hololive content in the rhythm game since 2021 when it added songs from Houshou Marine and COOL&CREATE's album #GENSOKYOholoism. However, it did not add Marine as an unlockable navigator at that time.

Sound Voltex Exceed Gear is available on arcades and PCs via Konami Station. Nekomata Okayu's songs will be available in the rhythm game for the foreseeable future after February 22, 2024. Other content related to the Vtuber will be obtainable until March 22, 2024.

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Bandai Namco will add Hoshimachi Suisei as an idol people can produce in The Idolmaster Cinderella Girls: Starlight Stage. The Hololive Vtuber will appear in person in the game, and she can also perform with other existing idols. The collaboration event will begin on March 11, 2024.

Every player who logs into the game while the collaboration event is running can obtain a Rare-grade Hoshimachi Suisei. However, the game will also encourage them to collect gacha tickets for a special banner that features a more valuable SS Rare-grade version of the same character. The collaboration will also feature the free distribution of two animated Suisei stickers and sales of Suisei-themed room items.

Some of the existing idols in Cinderella Girls' 346 (Mishiro) Production will also join the collaboration event by performing covers of Suisei's songs. Natsuki Kimura's cover of "Soirée" will appear first on March 11, 2024. Bandai Namco has also teased three more covers that will appear in the near future.

A new trailer showcasing the Hoshimachi Suisei collaboration event is available to watch via The Idolmaster series' official YouTube channel:

Suisei also posted a tweet on her official X account, explaining how this collaboration meant a lot to her. The Idolmaster series—which first launched in 2005—served as an inspiration for the person behind the Vtuber to become a real idol. She started activities as the Vtuber Hoshimachi Suisei with a dream that she would one day join the Cinderella Girls roster. This collaboration finally made her dream come true.

The Idolmaster Cinderella Girls: Starlight Stage is available in Japan on Android, iOS, and PC via DMM Games. The new collaboration event featuring Hololive Vtuber Hoshimachi Suisei will be available from March 11, 2024, to April 10, 2024.

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There’s a new Hololive video game, and this time it’s a visual novel called Snowed In that actually involved work from Hololive Advent member Shiori Novella. She worked on it alongside independent Vtuber Pending and other individuals and released it for free online via itch.io.

Shiori’s contribution to the game was the script, which she worked on with Pending. She contributed some voice acting for it too. Pending was also involved as a developer. The art is from ekao and Sayowl, with ekao doing Shiori’s sprites and Sayowl working on the key art. 

Snowed In can be played in any browser on any device. It involves the player spending time with Hololive Vtuber Shiori Novella and spending an evening together after a snowstorm hits. Since the plans to go to a restaurant end up canceled, the player and her decide to make due and spend time together at her home.

This isn’t the only Hololive visual novel that’s coming straight from Cover or is official. There’s also Minato Aqua and Entergram’s AQUARIUM, which appeared worldwide, and the Holostars Doppelgangerone. Both of those are paid games, however.

Snowed In is available now in browsers on PCs and mobile devices. Shiori’s last stream was a Lethal Company collab with the other members of Hololive Advent.

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Hololive Production revealed that the Tokyo Metropolitan Government will give away digital items based on the former's Vtubers in the latter's official Roblox space. People will be able to obtain wearable hats modeled after Gawr Gura, Mori Calliope, and Sakura Miko from the Hello! Tokyo Friends world.

The government bureau will set a number of quests that players will have to complete in order to receive the hats. The quests will involve buying a number of cosmetics from the lobby shop, exploring the official Tokyo space in Roblox, and collecting coins after each Hololive Vtuber hat has been released.

In addition, only the first 15,000 players who cleared the quests will be able to get the hats. Those who have owned the hats can wear and showcase them in other Roblox worlds.

Gawr Gura's hat will appear first on February 19, 2024, at 10 AM JST (February 18, 2024, at 8 PM ET). Mori Calliope's item will follow the week after on February 26, 2024, in Japan's time zone. The Tokyo government bureau will also add Sakura Miko's hat on an unspecified date in early March 2024.

The Hololive Vtuber hats will be available on Roblox. The online game platform is accessible on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Android, iOS, and Meta Quest 2/Pro.

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