Why Do TikTokers Beg For Virtual Gifts on TikTok LIVE? The Weird 'NPC Stream' Phenomenon Explained

TikTok LIVE is a part of the TikTok app that allows users to live stream themselves instead of just posting a pre-recorded video. The feature was originally introduced as a way to help creators and influencers better connect with their audiences through the help of Q&As, scheduled events, and collaborative live streaming with other TikTokers.

But several TikTok users are starting to notice that many TikTok LIVEs are conducted so creators can make use of the gifts feature and receive actual monetary tips from their users. This has led to some TikToker LIVE users resorting to stranger and stranger tactics to elicit money from their followers, including the phenomenon of NPC Streams that has streamers acting like NPCs and reacting to specific gifts with specific call-and-response phrases or actions. Here's a dive into the weirder side of TikTok, TikTok LIVE.

What Is TikTok LIVE?

TikTok LIVE is a feature on the video-sharing app TikTok, which primarily hosts short-form videos made by creators and influencers on the platform. TikTok LIVE is a way for creators to connect and interact with their audiences live, not unlike the popular live streaming platform Twitch. The feature also allows audiences to send "gifts" to their favorite live streamers, which can then be exchanged for real-world money.

TikTokers need to be over the age of 18 and have at least 1,000 followers in order to begin live streaming on TikTok LIVE, and the TikTok LIVE tab on the app allows people to scroll through various different concurrently occurring live streams.

What Are "Gifts" On TikTok LIVE?

TikTok allows users to buy digital "coins" which can be used to send "gifts" to their favorite TikTok LIVE users. Users can buy coins in various packages, starting at 65 coins for approximately a dollar. Coins can also be bought in bulk, at the rates of 1,321 coins for $19.99, 6,607 coins for $99.99, or 16,500 coins for $249.99.

One coin can buy a "Rose," the simplest gift, while 34,999 coins can buy a "Universe," the most expensive gift. At 34,999 points, a Universe costs over $500 dollars, most of which gets sent to the lucky TikTok live streamer. Because gifts from viewers translate to real money for TikTok live streamers, some streamers resort to weird tactics to engage a viewer's attention and receive a gift from them.

What Are Some Examples Of Weird TikTok LIVES?

A clip from a TikTok LIVE session conducted by a user named Pinkydoll was widely shared on Twitter in July 2023. The video showed Pinkydoll popping popcorn one kernel at a time with a hair iron while reciting a series of call-and-response words that corresponded to the gifts she received. For example, an "Ice Cream Cone" gift, which costs one virtual coin, elicited a "(slurp) ice cream's so good" response from Pinkydoll, while several Rose gifts led her to repeat the phrase "Yes Yes Yes." These have become known as "NPC Streams."

But Pinkydoll's relatively calm live streams are some of the more sane TikTok LIVE clips floating around the internet. Some TikTokers resort to more viscerally loud means to getting gifts, while others go for some reverse psychology.

What Are "NPC Streams" On TikTok LIVE?

An NPC stream is a type of TikTok LIVE stream where users act like video game NPCs. They do this by performing various idle animations, such as lightly bouncing up and down while staring into the camera, while only reacting when they get a gift.

Depending on the type of gift, the streamer will say a specific word or phrase or act out a specific motion, resulting in something that seems like complete nonsense without context and encouraging users to keep on donating. Pinkydoll has helped popularize this, but other TikTokers like Cherry Crush also do it.

How Much Money Do TikTok LIVEs Make?

Knowing how much it costs to buy virtual coins on TikTok, and understanding the various virtual gifts that can be bought with these coins begs the question; how much money does a TikTok livestreamer actually make? The rapid speed at which creators like Pinkydoll and Cherry Crush receive and react to gifts is meant to maximize their revenue, which comes out to approximately 1.3 cents per virtual coin.

By most estimates, we can gather that 1000 gifts worth 99 virtual coins each would result in a $1,287 payday. But how much of that revenue does the TikToker actually take home?

But TikTok creators can't immediately convert their gifts into real-world money. Instead, they trade in their gifts for virtual "diamonds," yet another step in the game-ification of TikTok LIVE. These virtual diamonds can be converted into actual money, but most sources claim that TikTok takes a whopping 50 percent commission upon conversion.

This means that the TikToker would only take home about half of a $1,287 payday, which comes out to $643.5.

What Do TikTok Users Think About TikTok LIVE?

TikTok LIVE exists on a separate viewing tab from regular TikTok videos, and not all TikTokers use the LIVE feature. TikTok LIVEs are also sometimes sandwiched between TikTok videos, which means that some of the strange aforementioned begging from TikTok LIVE does seep into the unassuming TikToker user's feed.

Many TikTokers describe TikTok LIVE as a "different app" from regular TikTok because of the kind of content and viewers it attracts. Other TikTokers have even gone so far as to make parody videos recreating what their live stream feed looks like, and it's a hilarious mix of online sellers, bored influencers, and of course, people clowning around in exchange for money.

For the full history of TikTok LIVE, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.