Non-Playable Character (NPC) livestreams are currently all the rage. This is in large part to creators like Pinkydoll, who’s making some serious money on the platform, TikTok. This niche market seems to grow exponentially, awarding streamers thousands of dollars daily. Born Fedha Sinon, the Canadian internet sensation has become the most notable personality behind the trend.
With her strangely accurate looping dialogue and motions, she’s mesmerizing tons of viewers online, including celebrities. Relatively new to the NPC scene, she’s quickly become the unofficial face of the moment. Pinkydoll began her live TikTok streams in January 2023 and now claims to make over $7,000 daily. Here is more about the social media star on the rise.
What Exactly Is The NPC TikTok Trend?
NPC trends feature TikTok creators acting as non-playable video game characters with robotic movements and only limited lines of dialogue. The viewers can control the creator’s actions and speech by tipping or “gifting” the creator. These streams are inspired by NPCs in virtual or video games who are programmed to repeat certain movements and phrases or sentences. Many creators now dig deep into the world of video game characters to find inspiration. However, others participate in actions, expressions, and modes of dialogue that they believe NPCs possess.
According to Insider, the popular trend originated in Asia, with the Japanese creator Natuecoco credited as the trendsetter. She began these NPC livestreams in October 2021 to experiment with how people react to different actions. Not many know her as the creator of the seemingly lucrative trend, however. It’s largely in part to Pinkydoll going viral on TikTok that the trend has been popularized.
Pinkydoll’s Personal Life
Although she claims to be 19, Pinkydoll was born in April 1996, making her 27 years old. The creator faced a lot of backlash for lying about her age and has yet to respond to it. She also has a son, and clips of her breaking character to speak to him have also gone viral. Before her TikTok fame, Pinkydoll is believed to have worked as a stripper and had run a cleaning business in Montreal. She allegedly lost both jobs after attending her stepfather's funeral in Seychelles.
Viewers today are enthralled by, and addicted to, Pinkydoll’s iconic catchphrases: “Ice cream so good,” “Yes, yes, yes,” and “Slay.” Her supposedly hypnotic actions encourage her viewers to send gifts in order to have control over her actions and words. These “gifts," which viewers pay for with real cash, are available on TikTok and can be offered to creators. In turn, TikTok creators exchange the gifts for money. In Pinkydoll’s case, she is able to reach over a hundred thousand viewers. Due to this, many fans vie for control and her attention by offering monetary gifts. She also claims to make $7,000 a day doing her TikTok Lives.
Response To The NPC Trend
Despite its popularity and the financial advantages it provides for many creators, the trend has been described by some as a form of sex work. Considering Pinkydoll heavily advertises her OnlyFans page on various social media platforms, some believe she is covertly using the NPC trend as a sexual kink for those looking to control strangers via social media. However, the TikTok app has strict community guidelines stating that no sexual content should be on the platform. Violations of these guidelines can result in an outright ban.
There has been incredible growth in the trend, and many new creators are joining in daily. Pinkydoll has become so popular on TikTok that the rapper and producer Timbaland has been listed as the creator’s top supporter. When the rapper joined her livestream on July 16, 2023, she famously broke character and gave him a shoutout: “Timbaland in the building, we’re going to Pluto.”
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