OTK Cuts Ties With Artesian Builds Following Drama
Asmongold, Alinity, and NICKMERCS have now spoken out against Artesian Builds after it came under fire for discriminating against small streamers.
03rd Mar 2022 17:23
Image Credit: Artesian Builds | OTK | YouTube
Esports and entertainment organisation One True King (OTK) has cut ties with computer building company Artesian Builds, after it was panned online by a number of content creators for snubbing smaller streamers from its prize giveaways.
Artesian Builds has had a popularity influx with its incredible PC creations and an impressive list of partners boosting its popularity, including Zack "Asmongold", Nicholas "NICKMERCS" Kolcheff, and Matthew "Mizkif" Rinaudo. However, Artesian Builds was panned on Twitter after CEO Noah Katz was redhandedly caught refusing to give a streamer, "Kiapiaa" a PC during a livestreamed prize giveaway, despite winning fair and square. The reason being because her following was "under [his] threshold."
Although Katz has released a number of statements apologising for his comments, a number of content creators have subsequently distanced themselves from Artesian Builds. Some have even come forward to share their "outright offensive" experiences with Artesian Builds. Now, OTK announced that it is cutting ties with the company.
OTK Responds To The Artesian Builds PC Giveaway Drama
After NICKMERCS called out Katz's comments as "weird", it wasn't long before OTK released a statement announcing that it was 'parting ways' with Artesian Builds. On March 2, OTK tweeted: "OTK is, was, and will always be a collective of streamers working together to elevate one another and produce content that is greater than the sum of its parts. We look forward to continuing our mission of pushing the envelope of what it means to be a gaming organization, and we are deeply thankful for the community that has supported us through it all."
The news follows more alarming reports by Dexerto, that Artesian Builds' business licence has been "suspended for tax evasion." YouTuber "Onepeg" displayed his full investigation of the claims in his video 'Artesian Builds CEO Speed Runs Tax Evasion, Gets Caught', which he posted on March 2.
Who Else Has Responded To The Artesian Builds Drama?
As well as NICKMERCS, a number of streamers have gone on to distance themselves from Artesian Builds following the drama. As well as Kiapiaa, several small content creators have also come forward to share how they have been discriminated against by Artesian for their modest communities. For example, "Protezee" and "strwberrymoogle" both claimed that Artesian belittled their community.
Now, OTK co-founder Asmongold has since responded to the esports organisation's statement. Retweeting OTK's statement, the MMO pro commented: "Apologies for not being able to address this yesterday, sometimes these things take time." Twitch streamer Natalia "Alinity" Mogollon has also claimed that Artesian presented her with an "outright offensive" offer. The 34-year-old further explained that the company apparently was "asking for a bunch of stuff" and only offering her $300 a month in return.
Artesian hasn't issued any further comments following on from Katz's apologies or OTK's announcement. However, with one of the company's biggest partners now out of the picture, it seems like there is still a great deal of damage control to be done.
About The Author
Emma Hill
Emma Hill is a former Junior Journalist at GGRecon.
