Animaze avatar — FaceRig's successor for avatar puppetry: a free Steam core that turns your webcam into a 2D or 3D character.
What it is
Animaze by FaceRig is an avatar animation app from Holotech Studios, the team behind FaceRig. It tracks your face from a webcam or phone and drives 2D and 3D avatars for streaming, video calls and recording.
Editor's review
Long-form introduction by the BetterPicker editors · checked against the official site · Oct 26, 2026
Animaze is what happened when the FaceRig team rebuilt their cult avatar app for a new decade. The practical path is Steam: xThat Awkward Gamer's free VTuber guide (29,000 views) walks the whole setup - search Animaze by FaceRig, install, pick a model, and you are moving a 2D or 3D character with your webcam at no cost, with OBS doing the capture. The official channel shows the modern tricks, including turning a selfie into an avatar through Ready Player Me (29,000 views), which matters for people who will never order custom art. The critical reviews give the honest frame: VtuberSenpai asks whether it is good for VTubing or an amazing disappointment (17,900 views), and MrJordilicious titles his preview quality comes at a cost (17,800 views). A free core with an in-app upgrade is the business model. One caveat up front: the product's own web domain is currently a parked page, so Steam is where the product actually lives.
What it does well
The free path genuinely works: tracking, a shelf of avatars and streaming output run at zero cost, which is why the free-setup guides keep finding an audience years after launch. The 33-minute guide covers models, backgrounds and OBS in one sitting, which tells you the learning curve is an afternoon, not a weekend.
Input flexibility: webcam or phone tracking out of the box, Leap Motion support for hand tracking if you own the hardware, and virtual camera output that drops straight into OBS or a call. Lip-sync from your microphone rounds out the puppetry without extra gear.
A real avatar pipeline: selfie-to-avatar import and a catalog of characters lower the barrier for streamers who want a persona tonight rather than a commissioned model next quarter.
Who it's for
Streamers and video-call users who want a character instead of a face cam, VTubers testing the hobby before investing in custom art, and anyone nostalgic for FaceRig who wants its direct successor rather than a different ecosystem.
Where it falls short
Discoverability is a mess: the official web domain sits parked while distribution runs through Steam, so pricing, support and documentation are scattered across storefront pages - a strange state for a decade-old brand with this many guide videos.
Quality tracks your hardware: reviewers agree the avatar looks as good as your camera, lighting and GPU allow - the cost in that preview title is real, and cheap webcams get cheap results.
The best content is behind the upgrade: the free catalog is broad but premium avatars and features sit behind the in-app purchase, overall fidelity trails the pricier dedicated VTuber suites, and the reviewers who push past the basics tend to graduate to those suites.
Specs at a glance
Facts from the official site · not editorial opinion
| Latest version | Steam distribution (app 1077440, Animaze by FaceRig); updates via Steam |
|---|---|
| Price | Free core app; optional in-app Pro upgrade (price shown in app); no public price verified |
| Platforms | Windows PC via Steam; webcam or phone tracking; Leap Motion optional |
| Open source | No - closed source |
| Core capability | Face-driven 2D/3D avatars for streaming and recording, virtual camera output, selfie-to-avatar import |
| Integrations | OBS and video-call apps via virtual camera, Ready Player Me import, in-app content store |
| Best for | Trying VTubing free before commissioning art or buying a pro suite |
Frequently asked questions
▸Is Animaze free?
There is a free core app on Steam that covers tracking and a set of avatars. An in-app upgrade adds premium content; the current price is shown in the app rather than on a public page.
▸Is Animaze the same as FaceRig?
It is the successor, built by Holotech Studios - the same team behind FaceRig - and it is distributed on Steam as Animaze by FaceRig.
▸What do I need to run it?
A Windows PC, a webcam or phone for face tracking, and optionally a Leap Motion controller for hand tracking. Streaming output works through a virtual camera in OBS or call apps.
▸Can I make an avatar from a photo?
Yes - the official channel demonstrates importing a selfie through Ready Player Me to create a usable 3D avatar without ordering custom art.
Video reviews
3 review videos aggregated · praise and criticism included alike · click through to the original video
Channels that covered it
Channels are aggregated as sources only — we don’t rate creators
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