A History of Japanese GTARP Streamer Servers | A Timeline of Stgra, VCR GTA, Niji GTA, and Holo GTA

Ahead of the GTA6 era, Japan's GTARP (GTA Roleplay) has expanded greatly in connection with streaming culture. For many, the trigger was watching streamer servers like Stgra and VCR GTA on stream. In this article, GTA6 FEED has organized the flow of Japan's GTARP streamer servers in timeline form, based on publicly available information.

Note that streamer servers often have their start, end, and hiatus dates move on an announcement basis, and date discrepancies can be seen on roundup sites and social media. This article deals with information within the range that could be confirmed, and clearly notes uncertain points. For the latest event information, please check the official X (formerly Twitter) or Discord of each project.

[Image blocked: A GTARP cityscape with police, gangs, EMS, and more all mixed together (image)]

Quick-Reference Timeline

Premise: The Difference Between Permanent Servers and Limited-Time Events

Japan's GTARP streamer servers broadly divide into two forms. One is the permanent type, where the server runs at all times and participants continue the life of the same character over the long term. The other is the limited-time event type, held within a set period.

Stgra is the representative of the permanent type, and VCR GTA is the representative of the limited-time type. Stgra is a permanent type where the city continues over the long term, and it is characterized by participants accumulating life in the same world, even while passing through season transitions (set hiatus periods) that serve as breaks. VCR, by contrast, is closer to a "festival" that concludes in a few weeks. These two are separate projects with different hosts, operations, and rules, but their participants often overlap, and they are frequently confused. When reading the timeline, it is easier to understand if you keep in mind that these two lines have run in parallel.

Organizing the main projects by form gives the following.

August 2022 — The Start of Stgra

The major starting point of Japan's GTARP streaming was the permanent project launched by Shobosuke. It began operating as "Streamer Grand Theft" on August 28, 2022, and the server name was changed to "Street Graffiti Roleplay" on April 17, 2023. This abbreviation has taken hold as Stgra.

[Image blocked: The logo of Stgra (Street Graffiti Roleplay)]

Participants create a profile as a resident of the fictional city of Los Santos, the setting of GTA5, and live in that city as a single character. Because the server is permanent, it is characterized by allowing participants to continue, at any time, an experience as if they were living in another world. Viewers are called "kansokusha (observers)," and a culture of watching over the city's events through streams grew.

In October 2022, not long after the start, there is a record of Nijisanji's Hajime Shibuya joining as a resident of the city, and the participation of corporate-affiliated VTubers began to be seen from around this time. Participants were a mix of individual streamers and corporate VTubers, and later the lineup broadened as Nijisanji's Kanae, Ex Albio, Shizuka Rin, and others joined.

2023 — The Arrival of VCR GTA and Mutual Inflow

In July 2023, the first "VCR GTA," a limited-time event hosted by VAULTROOM and Crazy Raccoon, was held. It is a format that opens a special server for a set period of a few weeks, with many streamers and VTubers gathering. Rather than a format like the permanent Stgra, where one accumulates a single character's life over the long term, it is received as a festival-type project with strong event and social qualities.

[Image blocked: VCR GTA]

This first VCR GTA greatly boosted Japan's GTARP scene as a whole. The holding of VCR GTA broadened recognition of GTARP as a way of playing itself, and it appears to have created a flow of interest toward the permanent Stgra as well. In carrying out VCR GTA, Shobosuke, who operates Stgra, cooperated on system and rule adjustments, so although they are separate projects, the personal connections run deep.

On December 10 of the same year, "VCR GTA2" was held, further expanding in scale with about 20 Nijisanji livers participating. VCR GTA2 ended in late December. The VCR series drew major streamers and VTubers such as Shaka, Guchitsubo, Ladda, and MONDO, and the clashes between police and gangs became a major topic.

Note that VCR GTA is sometimes called "Suto-saba GTA," but be aware that it is a separate project from Stgra (Street Graffiti). The two are operated by different hosts under different rules.

2024 — The Activation of Exclusive Server Projects

Entering 2024, exclusive server projects aimed at specific agencies or groups became prominent. The representative of these was the "Nijisanji GTA server (commonly Niji GTA)," held from June 15 to 25, 2024. Hosted by Sara Hoshikawa and Kanae, with support from the Stgra operations team, a server exclusive to Nijisanji livers was prepared. The setting was called "Niji Santos," and it reached a scale where over 90 livers at most lived in the city simultaneously, with cross-agency exchange becoming a major topic. Roles such as EMS, police, gangs, restaurants, and mechanics were prepared, and the affiliated livers split into each job to live new lives in Los Santos.

From September 17 to 23 of the same year, "Holo GTA," a large RP project by Hololive-affiliated VTubers, was held. Hosted by Sakura Miko and Hoshimachi Suisei (miComet), with support from Stgra's operations, the city that served as the setting was named "Holos Santos." The period was seven days, with streams held daily from around 7 p.m. into late night, and on some days in the latter half extending close to dawn. Participants exceeded 50, and it became a large-scale event with, in addition to Japan (JP), affiliated talents from the English-speaking (EN) and Indonesian (ID) branches joining.

In the city, talents split into roles such as police, gangs, EMS, and mechanics, and an ensemble drama unfolded from each of their standpoints. Central figures were placed for each role, such as Subaru Oozora as the police chief, Towa Tokoyami as the gang boss, Fubuki Shirakami in EMS, and Okayu Nekomata as a mechanic. This project was chosen as "Best VTuber Event" at the overseas fan-voted "VTuber Awards 2024," and it is considered one of the GTARP projects by VTubers that drew especially large attention in recent years.

From December 2 to 12 of the same year, "VCR GTA3" was held. Over 180 streamers, VTubers, and pro gamers participated, showing that the VCR series was scaling up even further. Having passed through projects like Niji GTA, the broadening of the participant base continued, with the participation of livers who do not usually join streamer servers. A multilayered situation took shape, with the permanent Stgra, the limited-time VCR series, and various exclusive server projects running in parallel.

2025–2026 — The Spread of Streamer-Oriented Server Projects

In recent years, streamer-oriented server projects in the VCR GTA lineage have become established. "MadTown," an invitation-only server hosted by Crazy Raccoon (CR) with cooperation from VAULTROOM, held a beta version in June 2025 (June 1–29) and a new season in October of the same year (about one month from October 1). Unlike the previous, short-and-intense VCR, it is characterized by a more casual concept of lowering the degree of RP enforcement and "leisurely enjoying life" over about a month.

[Image blocked: MadTown]

In the following February 2026, "NEWTOWN," likewise an invitation-only server by CR / VAULTROOM, was held. Announcements on the official X describe it as a project spanning about three weeks from February 9 to 28. It shares with VCR the point of being an event type with a set deadline, and it has a structure where relationships move densely in a short period precisely because the end is decided. These invitation-only servers have drawn participants from various groups' streamers and VTubers, including VSpo members such as Sumire Kaga, Nazuna Kaga, and Uruha Ichinose. Note that these projects often do not officially disclose all participants, and the details of operating hours and all participants vary in granularity across official announcements, each streamer's posts, and unofficial roundups, so this article keeps to an overview.

Stgra, the permanent project, also reached a major milestone. Season 1, which began on August 28, 2022, grew to a scale with about 800 characters and about 600 streamers participating, and on September 21, 2025, it brought its roughly three-year history to a temporary close. After that, following a preparation period (hiatus) of about three months, "Stgra Season 2" launched on December 19, 2025, set in a reborn city. It is a form of reopening with the city itself renewed, while keeping its character as a permanent venue. Operation is by GANMA Inc., and Shobosuke continues to serve as the planner and host.

Stgra has also broadened the range of its development, and multilayered information dissemination linked with streams and social media, through official radio programs and the like, is taking hold. A culture of clip videos and multi-viewpoint archive viewing has also spread, so that even those who cannot follow in real time, and those who do not watch streams directly, have come to encounter GTARP.

On the Certainty of the Information

Among the content of this article, the start of Stgra Season 1 (August 28, 2022, originally "Streamer Grand Theft") and the server name change on April 17, 2023, the end of Season 1 (September 21, 2025), the start of Season 2 (December 19, 2025), the July 2023 holding of the first VCR GTA, the December 2023 holding of VCR GTA2, the June 2024 holding of Niji GTA (June 15–25), the September 2024 holding of Holo GTA (September 17–23) and its award at VTuber Awards 2024, the December 2024 holding of VCR GTA3 (December 2–12), the June and October 2025 holdings of MadTown, and the February 2026 holding of NEWTOWN are information that can be confirmed through reporting and the announcements of each project.

On the other hand, descriptions saying "Stgra started in June 2024" can be seen in the wild, but the start of Stgra's operation is correctly August 28, 2022. What started in June 2024 was the Nijisanji-exclusive Niji GTA, and it appears this was confused with that. Also, the detailed operating hours, regular days off, end dates, and all participants of each server vary by occasion, so this article avoids definitive statements. The participants listed in this article are representative examples for each server and do not cover all participants. Because participation status changes by occasion and time, please check each official source for accurate schedules and participants.

Sources / References

Sources / References: the official X of the Stgra operations, Famitsu, Inside, Real Sound, Dengeki Online, 4Gamer, KAI-YOU, Wikipedia, Pixiv Encyclopedia, and others.

This article is a commentary by GTA6 FEED and has no relationship whatsoever with Rockstar Games / Take-Two Interactive or the operators of the various projects. Because event information varies, please check each official announcement for the latest information.

Disclaimer

This article is an explanatory piece researched and organized by GTA6 FEED based on various publicly available information, and it has no relationship whatsoever with Rockstar Games or Take-Two Interactive, or with the operators of the various projects and servers. The event information and operating structure of streamer servers change over time, and discrepancies can be seen in information on social media and roundup sites. For the latest and accurate information, please check official announcements such as each project's official X (formerly Twitter) or Discord.