On Thursday, VShojo CEO Justin “Gunrun” Ignacio announced that they would be closing the popular VTuber talent agency.
News of VShojo’s sudden closure comes just days after popular Twitch VTuber Ironmouse released a video alleging the company withheld “a significant amount of funds.” Among those, a hefty charitable donation of more than $515,000 for the Immune Deficiency Foundation. The latter, near and dear to online personality Ironmouse’s heart, as the content creator suffers from common variable immunodeficiency (CVID).
The brand CEO takes full accountability for the mismanagement of VShojo in a statement on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter):
“VShojo has failed, and I’ve mismanaged the company into the situation you’re all witnessing.
“So today I am sharing the difficult news that VShojo is shutting down, and I take full responsibility for the decisions that led us to this point.
“I’ve been doing everything I can to fundraise and right the ship these past few months, but despite my efforts, we are in a worse position, and those I care about are now paying the price.
“Over the past few years, we raised around $11 million to pursue a bold, talent-first approach in VTubing, prioritizing creators and community over short-term profits, to achieve long-term sustainability. Our funding went directly to our creators through generous splits, debut investments, infrastructure, concerts, events, and staffing, all designed to support them. We also wanted talent to own their IP, which we knew was a unique creator-first approach for an agency. However, despite all our efforts, the business failed to generate the revenue we needed to sustain that model, and eventually, we ran out of money.
“Additionally, I acknowledge that some of the money spent by the company was raised in connection with talent activity, which I later learned was intended for a charitable initiative. At the time, we were working hard to raise additional investment capital to cover our costs, and I firmly believed, based on the information available to us, that we would be able to do so and cover all expenses. We were unsuccessful in our fundraising efforts. I made the decision to pursue funding, and I own its consequences.
“I am deeply sorry to all the talents, staff, friends, and community members who believed in our brand. You did not deserve this.”
Of all VTubers — human content creators that use virtual avatars and mo-cap software — Ironmouse is among the most well-known. The streamer is currently No. 3 on Twitch’s most-subscribed streamers list. The VTuber turned to streaming as a means to safely socialize while living with CVID.
Ultimately, Ignacio’s closure announcement isn’t surprising, considering virtually all of the company’s remaining talent left following Ironmouse’s video.
This is a developing story.
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