Gaming Brand HyperX Introduces Own VTuber Himura Kuraudo

HyperX, the gaming brand division of tech giant Hewlett-Packard (HP), has recently announced the debut of their own VTuber named Himura Kuraudo. She debuted on February 2, and joins the growing list of brand-affiliated VTubers outside of Japan.

• Kuraudo’s model has been rigged by Cetra and Enma from the popular rigging and production studio Iron Vertex. Her model has been designed by Rosuuri, known for her VTuber designs for VShojo’s Ironmouse, Production Kawaii’s Miryu Kotofuji, and Nijisanji’s Asahina Akane.
• HyperX describes Kuraudo as a ‘red panda-human’. She celebrates her birthday every 21st of October, and is aged 122.
• Kuraudo also speaks in multiple languages, including English, Mandarin, Korean, and Japanese (apart from her ‘Panda’ language)
• During her stream, she also noted that aside from doing typical gaming streams, she will also do language learning streams, as well as ones that will focus on featuring HyperX’s products.
• Towards the end of the stream, she has already revealed her streaming schedule for February, which includes playing games such as Stray, 12 Minutes, and Cooking Simulator.
• It is also worth noting that prior to the debut, Kuraudo’s model was accidentally revealed during a previous HyperX stream, as seen on this clip.

This was not the first time tech brands have tapped VTubers as part of their influencer marketing strategy. For instance, Taiwanese computer company MSI debuted a VTuber named Mihoshi Mei for its Japanese market. Moreover, multinational conglomerate Hitachi has a VTuber named Shirokaden Hakushaku to promote its consumer appliance lineup, albeit inactive since 2021.

• Some brand VTubers exist as a ‘mascot only’ for the company. Examples of these include Netflix’s N-ko and Kellogg’s Tony the Tiger (which has been inactive after its purported ‘debut stream’)
• A large majority of brand VTubers outside of Japan have mixed typical streaming activities and doing brand promotions. These include Hime from Crunchyroll, as well as Airi Gwynevere and Mikazuki Mai of airasia’s VTuber arm Project Kavvaii.