NPC streaming is a relatively new form of livestreaming, carried out on platforms like Twitch, Kick, or TikTok, in which a real human behaves in a manner analogous to an NPC ("Non-player character") in a video game, performing a series of repetitive actions or phrases based on commands issued by viewers (which generally are associated with a monetary cost paid or tipped to the streamer).
In general, NPC streamers tend to be attractive women wearing outlandish and/or revealing costumes. The repetitive, mechanical nature of their actions is often quite surreal, especially when maintained for hours on end, and NPC streamers are generally rewarded in proportion to how precisely they can replicate their actions and phrases, making it seem almost like a video on loop. Although NPC streaming is often incredibly bizarre to first-time viewers, its growing popularity can be attributed to a fetish of control and the ability to force an attractive stranger to do one's bidding on command.
The person widely credited with starting the NPC streaming trend is female Japanese TikTok streamer Natuecoco (real name unknown), who began streaming wwearing cat ears, colored wigs, and various cosplay outfits while performing repetitive actions and Japanese and Korean phrases on command back in 2021.
Another well-known NPC streamer is Canadian TikToker Pinkydoll (real name Fedha Sinon), who is known for wearing revealing outfits while uttering phrases such as "ice cream so good" on command while performing repeated actions such as popping individual popcorn kernels with a hair straightener.