Hi everyone!
This is the IRIAM US Team.
This update brings two new things: Sneak Peek, a new way to discover streams, and Community Rank, a new system that will help shape the future of events. In this month's Dev Diary, we'll focus on these two and share some of the thinking behind them.
Let's get into it!
👀 Sneak Peek — Take a Peek Before You Join
Ever wish you could get a quick feel for a stream before you actually step in? That's exactly what our new Sneak Peek feature is for!
Why We Made This?
Let's start with the thinking behind it. Right now on IRIAM US, the only way to find out what a stream is like is to enter it. The moment you tap a thumbnail, you're in — your name shows up, and the Streamer can see you.
But there's only so much a thumbnail can tell you. What are they talking about in there? Is now a good time to drop in? Will this Streamer and I click? — right now, the only way to find out is to go in.
We want Streamers and Viewers to find each other more easily. We want checking out a stream to not feel like a "commitment." And we want more of the people who enter your stream to be there because something about it genuinely caught their interest. That's what we built Sneak Peek for!
(And yes — tapping in by accident when you didn't mean to? That won't happen anymore! A small thing, but honestly a pretty nice one.)
How It Works
During a Sneak Peek, neither the Streamer nor other Viewers can see you. No entry log, no viewing history — nothing stays behind. That's right, you're completely invisible!
Sneak Peek Basics
- You can Sneak Peek a stream for up to 30 seconds, once per stream.
- You can't keep Sneak Peeking the same stream without entering. Want to see more? That's right — hit Enter!
- If the same Streamer starts a new stream, you can Sneak Peek again. - Want to keep looking? Swipe left or right to Sneak Peek other streams — no need to head back to the previous screen.
Whether Sneak Peek is on for a given stream is up to the Streamer — they can choose before each stream.
For example, you might turn it off for the final stretch of a ranking event, or for a special anniversary stream you'd like only your regulars to see. When it's off, things work just like before: people who haven't entered can't Sneak Peek your stream.
After your stream, the result screen shows how many people Sneak Peeked (just the number).
Make the Most of Sneak Peek!
One last note for Streamers.
Because streams with Sneak Peek on can be checked out without the pressure of entering, they reach people who might otherwise have just scrolled past. And the people who hit Enter after a Sneak Peek came in already interested in your stream. On IRIAM JP, where this feature has been live for over a year, streams with Sneak Peek on consistently see more first-time Viewers and higher return rates.
Give it a try!
🌱 Introducing Community Rank
With this update, we're introducing Community Rank, which shifts based on your community's day-to-day activity.
Why We're Introducing Community Rank
The biggest reason: to make event matching fairer.
Right now, some IRIAM events use the previous month's Fan Badge count as an entry requirement. Fan Badge count works as a rough gauge for getting in, but on its own it can't fully capture a Streamer's actual activity or how lively a community really is.
"There's got to be a better way to match" — we suspect many of you have felt that way. Community Rank is what we've prepared as the answer. With a rank that reflects both how lively a community is and the streaming a Streamer has built up over time, we can work toward a world where communities of similar energy get matched in events.
For instance, events open only to communities at or below a certain rank, or events only for high-ranked communities with the track record and energy to match — things like that become possible once rank is working well. Especially for ranking-style events, we believe building this kind of fair matching, and this variety of events, is better for everyone.
We're planning to start using Community Rank as an event entry requirement around August–September. Since everyone starts at D, we'll wait until each community has settled into a rank that fits, and ranks have spread out a bit.
How Community Rank Works
Here's the gist:
- Gifts, comments, Stars, viewing, and other daily support from your community are tallied as Cheer Points each day.
- Based on that day's Cheer Points (12:00 AM–11:59 PM EDT / 11:00 PM–10:59 PM EST), your Daily Rank Score is set. Just going live always earns you +1 — and from there, the more your community lights up compared to other Streamers around the same rank, the higher your score climbs, all the way up to +6!
- The total of your Daily Rank Scores over seven days determines how your rank changes.
- Everyone starts at rank D.
If you'd like to know the finer details, we've put together a full explanation in the in-app Help. (The rules are fairly involved, so no need to understand it all right away!)
Where Can You See Your Rank?
How to Check Community Rank - Your own rank: anytime, from the Community Rank menu on My Page / your Profile.
- A Streamer's rank can be seen only by: the Streamer themselves, and their Fan Badge holders from the current or previous month.
And yes — Community Rank isn't something everyone can see. Rank isn't meant for comparing or competing against other communities; it's something each community engages with at its own pace. That's why we've set it up this way.
And if you ever find yourself thinking, "We'd love a goal to chase together as a community!" — Community Rank can be a great fit for that, too.
Adjustments Ahead
Community Rank is starting as a trial run. Over the next 2–3 months, we'll watch how it actually plays out and tune it to fit the IRIAM US community. Whenever there are changes, we'll let you know.
🛠️ Bug Fixes & Improvements
Thank you, as always, for your bug reports and feedback. Here's one improvement included in this update:
Calibration: Adjust how readily your eyes turn into a smile We've added a setting to Live2D calibration that controls how easily your character's eyes shift into a smile.
Plus a few other tweaks and minor bug fixes.
🎪 OffKai Expo Gen 5 — See You Next Month in San Jose!
IRIAM is bringing a booth back to OffKai Expo Gen 5, July 24–26 in San Jose!
Since last month, we've started sharing what the booth will look like, along with a few calls for participation — stage hosts, promo videos, and IRIAM Roaming Ambasadors. Thank you so much for all the applications we've received!
We're still accepting submissions for promo videos and clips! See the details here — promo videos and clipping.
This year's booth is leveling up from last year, with a big live screen featuring IRIAM Streamers and a free daily gacha. And we've actually got a few more things in the works that we haven't announced yet. We'll be rolling out more info bit by bit, so stay tuned!
Wrapping Up
That's it for this month's Dev Diary!
Sneak Peek changes the way people step into your streams, starting the day you update — give it a try and see how your new encounters shift. Community Rank, on the other hand, won't change anything right away — for now, just sit back and watch how your rank moves. And in July, OffKai is waiting.
If you have any feedback or questions, we'd love to hear from you.
See you in next month's update!
　— IRIAM US Team
