Custom Cast
Custom Cast (株式会社カスタムキャスト) is a Tokyo-based animation company that operates a mobile app for smartphone-based 3D avatar creation and VTuber live streaming on niconico, serving both individual creators and enterprise clients via licensing, VRM data, and IP collaboration costumes.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2018
- HeadquartersTokyo, Japan
- Headcount—
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Custom Cast does
Custom Cast, Inc. (株式会社カスタムキャスト) is a Tokyo-based, privately held animation company founded in 2018 that operates a 3D avatar creation and VTuber live-streaming mobile app for iOS and Android. The app lets individual users customize 3D characters — face, hair, body, and costumes from a library of over 7,000 parts — and stream live as those avatars on DWANGO's niconico platform using real-time facial expression tracking (Apple TrueDepth API on iPhone X and later; simplified tracking on other devices) with AR support. Beyond the consumer app, Custom Cast sells an Official Channel premium subscription at ¥550/month that adds Studio pose/photo features, VRM export to Virtual Cast and THE SEED ONLINE, early item access, and exclusive items, with in-app purchases powered by a Cast Coin virtual currency classified as a prepaid payment instrument under Japan's Payment Services Act.
The company runs a dual B2C/B2B model. The B2B arm provides commercial licensing of characters for VTuber streaming, video, and advertising (clients include Hitachi Global Life Solutions, Benesse, and FM Musashino), VRM-format 3D character data provision (e.g., ZIZAI), custom original item production, and in-app user-participation events. A signature B2B revenue stream is IP collaboration costumes produced for major anime and game franchises — including KADOKAWA (Re:Zero, 幼女戦記, けものフレンズ2), MAGES. (STEINS;GATE), and CIRCUS (D.S.-Dal Segno-, D.C.4) — sold as in-app purchases with revenue shared with IP holders. Distribution is concentrated in Japan via the App Store, Google Play, and the niconico ecosystem, with English and Chinese localization on certain legal pages but no international app rollout. The company is led by Representative Director Kawasaki Yamato (川崎 大和), capitalized at ¥80,000,000, with sole disclosed shareholder S-court (株式会社S-court).
Custom Cast firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Custom Cast
- Legal name
- 株式会社カスタムキャスト
- Website
- https://customcast.jp
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2018
- Operating status
- Operating
- Short description
- Custom Cast (株式会社カスタムキャスト) is a Tokyo-based animation company that operates a mobile app for smartphone-based 3D avatar creation and VTuber live streaming on niconico, serving both individual creators and enterprise clients via licensing, VRM data, and IP collaboration costumes.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Custom Cast industry classification
Industry- Product category
- VTuber / 3D Avatar Software
- NAICS
- Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers (711510)
- SIC
- Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Virtual Influencers, VTubers & Avatar/Face-Tracking (Gaming Creators) (MPAFAEAK)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Digital Humans, Avatars & Real-Time Character Pipelines (MPAHADAH), Brand Activations & Experiential Campaign Design (MPAAAGAA)
Keywords
Where Custom Cast is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Tokyo
- HQ country
- Japan
- HQ region
- Asia
Offices2 records
Markets served
Custom Cast business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- In-App Purchases (Virtual Items / Cast Coin): Users purchase virtual items (costumes, accessories, hairstyles, poses, backgrounds, decorations) using Cast Coin (キャストコイン), the app's virtual currency. The app has over 7,000 costume and hairstyle items available. Revenue is generated per transaction as users buy individual items.
- Official Channel Premium Membership: Monthly subscription (月額550円・税込) providing exclusive studio features (custom poses), VRM output capability, early access to new items, and exclusive member-only item presents. Recurring monthly revenue stream.
- Enterprise / B2B Licensing: Business clients license characters for VTuber streaming, video production, and video advertising use. Licensing is customized by period and use case, allowing flexible commercial use arrangements.
- VRM Data Provision to Business Clients: VRM-format 3D character data files and usage rights are provided to business clients (e.g., ZIZAI) for use in external tools and services.
- Original Item Production for IP Collaborations: Custom Cast creates exclusive costumes and items for IP collaboration deals (e.g., KADOKAWA's けものフレンズ2, MAGES.' STEINS;GATE, CIRCUS's D.S.-Dal Segno- / D.C.4, Re:ゼロから始める異世界生活, 幼女戦記), sold as in-app purchases. Revenue shared with IP holders.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free tier with in-app purchases |
| Subscription | Monthly | Official Channel premium membership |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
Custom Cast product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Custom Cast develops and operates a smartphone mobile application (iOS and Android) that enables users to create customizable 3D characters (VTuber avatars) from a library of 7,000+ costume and hairstyle parts and live-stream them in real time on Niconico using facial motion capture. It monetizes the app through virtual item purchases using a proprietary Cast Coin virtual currency and a ¥550/month Official Channel paid membership, and serves enterprise customers via commercial avatar licensing, VRM data provisioning, custom IP collaboration costumes, and in-app branded events.
Product overview
Custom Cast is a single mobile application (iOS and Android) focused on 3D VTuber avatar creation and live streaming. The core product is the Custom Cast app itself, which provides character customization using a library of over 7,000 costume and hairstyle parts. Users stream live video via Niconico and nicocas using their avatar with real-time facial tracking. An optional paid upgrade — the Official Channel (¥550/month) — adds studio pose/photo features, VRM export, early item access, and limited-time gifts. A separate Business Services tier offers commercial licensing, VRM data provision, custom item production, and in-app event hosting for enterprise clients. A virtual currency called Cast Coin powers in-app item purchases.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Custom Cast (カスタムキャスト) Mobile App Free-to-download iOS/Android mobile app that enables individual users to customize 3D avatars (face, hair, body, costumes) using a library of over 7,000 parts and live-stream them as VTubers on Niconico and nicocas with real-time facial motion capture (TrueDepth API on iPhone X and later; simplified face tracking on other iOS/Android devices).
- Custom Cast Official Channel (カスタムキャスト公式チャンネル)
Quantifiable outcome
- 7 million+ cumulative app downloads
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Custom Cast
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Custom Cast technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
AI capability2 records
Feature6 records
Custom Cast partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- FM Musashino (エフ|score:musashino-fm.co.jp)minorFM Musashino, a radio station, used Custom Cast character licensing for the image character of their radio drama 'えこエコ！'. This demonstrates the use of Custom Cast's enterprise licensing for media/branding purposes.
- Hitachi Global Life Solutions (日立グローバルライフソリューションズ)minorHitachi Global Life Solutions utilized Custom Cast's app to create content for their official virtual YouTuber '白花伝伯爵' (Shirohana Den-hakushaku) featured in videos for Hitachi's home appliances brand.
- Benesse Corporation (ベネッセコーポレーション)minorBenesse Corporation deployed Custom Cast's technology to create a virtual instructor character for their online class services, illustrating educational use of the platform.
- ZIZAIminorZIZAI received VRM-format 3D character data and usage rights from Custom Cast for use in their own services and tools.
- KADOKAWAcoreKADOKAWA collaborated with Custom Cast on a 'けものフレンズ2' (Kemono Friends 2) collaboration, with Custom Cast creating exclusive costumes sold as in-app purchases within the app. This is a flagship IP collaboration.
- MAGES.coreMAGES. collaborated on a 'STEINS;GATE' collaboration, with Custom Cast producing exclusive costumes for sale within the app. A flagship IP partnership for anime fan engagement.
- CIRCUScoreCIRCUS partnered with Custom Cast for 'D.S.-Dal Segno-' and 'D.C.4 ～ダ・カーポ4～' collaboration costumes sold as in-app items. A key IP collaboration partnership.
- Re:Zero IP (content from the Re:Zero - Starting Life in Another World franchise)coreCustom Cast produced collaboration costumes for both 'Re:Zero - Starting Life in Another World Memory Snow' and 'Re:Zero - The Frozen Bond' movies, sold as in-app items. These are flagship anime IP collaborations.
- Code:Mikvios / Snail (幼女戦記 IP)coreCustom Cast created collaboration costumes for '幼女戦記' (The Saga of Tanya the Evil), sold as in-app items. A notable anime IP partnership.
- CTWminorCTW, operator of the game 'ビビッドアーミー' (Vivid Army), partnered with Custom Cast to host a user submission event recruiting new character designs from Custom Cast app users.
- DWANGO / Niconico (親会社)coreDWANGO operates the niconico platform which provides the live streaming infrastructure for Custom Cast. The app integrates with niconico (nicomas) for streaming, and the official channel is hosted on niconico. DWANGO is the parent ecosystem partner enabling the core streaming use case.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Custom Cast competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- ANYCOLOR (Nijisanji): Second major Japanese VTuber agency (Nijisanji). Comparable because it sits in the same Japanese VTuber ecosystem that Custom Cast's app supports and its existence drives demand for avatar creation tools like Custom Cast.
- Cover Corporation (Hololive): Largest VTuber talent agency and ecosystem operator. Comparable as a major consumer of avatar streaming technology and a benchmark for VTuber monetization, though it operates an agency model rather than a creation tool.
Direct peers
- VRoid Studio (Pixiv): Pixiv's free 3D avatar creation tool with VRM output. Directly comparable as a mobile/PC-native 3D VTuber avatar creator; competes head-to-head for entry-level avatar builders and overlaps heavily with Custom Cast's core creation workflow.
- VSeeFace: PC-based VTuber face-tracking application with VRM support. Comparable because it targets the same VTuber streaming persona (real-time avatar streaming) and shares the VRM standard with Custom Cast.
- Live2D Cubism: Industry-standard 2D VTuber motion and rigging tool. Comparable because it is the dominant professional-grade avatar animation pipeline that Custom Cast's B2B customers and many competing VTuber creators use.
- VTube Studio (Denchi): Live2D-based VTuber streaming app with face tracking. Comparable because it serves the same smartphone VTuber streamer use case as Custom Cast, with similar real-time facial capture and streaming workflow.
Emerging players
- Animaze (HzO): Cross-platform VTuber avatar and streaming app. Comparable because it offers a similar avatar-based streaming experience with face tracking; competes for the same creator persona outside Japan.
- Ready Player Me: Cross-platform avatar creation SDK. Comparable because it pursues a similar cross-platform avatar interoperability strategy with VRM-compatible output and competes for enterprise avatar licensing deals.
- Cluster (ZIZAI/cluster Inc.): VR/VTuber platform and recipient of Custom Cast's VRM data licensing. Comparable because it overlaps in VTuber/avatar infrastructure, hosts virtual events, and consumes VRM character data produced by tools like Custom Cast.
Others
- Kizuna AI Inc. Virtual influencer / VTuber IP holder and agency. Comparable thematically as a consumer of VTuber technology in the Japanese market, though it operates as a talent/IP rather than a creation tool.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Custom Cast social profiles
Digital presenceCustom Cast financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Custom Cast leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Custom Cast funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Custom Cast M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Custom Cast
What does Custom Cast do?
Custom Cast develops and operates a smartphone mobile application (iOS and Android) that enables users to create customizable 3D characters (VTuber avatars) from a library of 7,000+ costume and hairstyle parts and live-stream them in real time on Niconico using facial motion capture. It monetizes the app through virtual item purchases using a proprietary Cast Coin virtual currency and a ¥550/month Official Channel paid membership, and serves enterprise customers via commercial avatar licensing, VRM data provisioning, custom IP collaboration costumes, and in-app branded events.
Is Custom Cast a public or private company?
Custom Cast is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Custom Cast founded?
Custom Cast was founded in 2018.
Where is Custom Cast based?
Custom Cast is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, in the Asia region.
How does Custom Cast make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. In-App Purchases (Virtual Items / Cast Coin) is the primary driver. The others are official Channel Premium Membership, enterprise / B2B Licensing, VRM Data Provision to Business Clients and original Item Production for IP Collaborations.
Who are Custom Cast's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are ANYCOLOR (Nijisanji) and Cover Corporation (Hololive). Direct peers are VRoid Studio (Pixiv), VSeeFace, Live2D Cubism and VTube Studio (Denchi). Emerging players are Animaze (HzO), Ready Player Me and Cluster (ZIZAI/cluster Inc.). Kizuna AI Inc. is listed as an others.
Does Custom Cast have an API?
No public API is recorded for Custom Cast.
What industry is Custom Cast in?
Custom Cast's product category is VTuber / 3D Avatar Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAFAEAK, Virtual Influencers, VTubers & Avatar/Face-Tracking (Gaming Creators), with a secondary code of MPAHADAH, Digital Humans, Avatars & Real-Time Character Pipelines. Its NAICS code is 711510 and its SIC code is 7330.