The Untold Truth Of OTK

The "One True King" network, or OTK, was launched by a group of friends who wanted to create a new space for streamers to make their mark in the world. OTK is a collective in which members can focus on friendship, community, and creating entertaining content.

OTK launched in October 2020 as a collaboration between five friends who met via streaming and playing "World of Warcraft." From the very beginning, the organization aimed to be a true entertainment powerhouse and focused on creating a huge variety of content with a number of different partners. Two years later, OTK was named the Best Content Organization at the first Streamer Awards.

OTK's successes include partnering with game developers to host tournaments and develop new RPG experiences, as well as launching a custom PC company to give its fans the gaming experience they deserve. However, the organization has also been shown to have a dark side, and it has found itself wrapped up in controversy on more than one occasion. Through the highs and lows, this is the untold truth of OTK.

Not long after OTK formed, it became apparent that the organization wouldn't just be another gaming content company. All of OTK's members are streamers, so there's certainly plenty of gaming content to be found amidst the organization's programming, but what has really helped skyrocket OTK's popularity has been its push for more varied types of content.

The group's open-ended structure has allowed all of its members to show off their creativity in different ways, leading to the creation of shows like "King's Island," in which OTK gathers a group of streamers and puts them into a head-to-head trivia competition. It's also allowed for some OTK members to put together a livestream ghost hunting project, while others have platformed their own personal interests by creating an anime podcast called "The Noodle Shop."

Sometimes OTK's best ideas don't even involve putting streamers in front of cameras. In August 2022, OTK's main Twitch channel started streaming 24/7, but when no one is available for a livestream, the channel just broadcasts lo-fi music with a cartoon version of OTK streamer Emiru on the screen (via Dexerto). Fans loved the idea, and it's another example of how OTK's loose structure allows it to thrive.

With five founding members, OTK started out with a stacked roster, but the organization quickly began adopting new members. The group made its first expansion just a few weeks after it formed by bringing Nmplol into the fold as a co-owner of the organization. Jschlatt also joined those ranks in 2021, and in 2022 a new deal between OTK and Sodapoppin saw him become a co-owner as well.

While all those new members became co-owners of OTK, the organization has also built up a small team of people, including streamers like Cyr and Tectone, who purely work as content creators without the responsibility of putting together the org's larger strategies. Emiru's fans were over the moon when she decided to join OTK in January 2022, and the group's latest addition, BruceDropEmOff, joined in March 2022. 

Now OTK has a large team of creators who are able to pursue their own streaming and gaming interests while also contributing to the larger projects that OTK has in the works. Every member brings their own perspective and set of ideas to the organization, and by making regular new additions, OTK is able to keep engaging new audiences as they continue to grow.

Every organization needs a base of operations, and OTK made Mizkif's house one of its central locations in its early days. Mizkif showed fans the house he was building in a September 2020 video, during which he jokingly said, "So, I built this house for them, not for me, for them," while pointing to some of his streamer friends. The OTK announcement was still a few weeks away, but at that point Mizkif definitely knew that his new home would be a place where the organization's members could gather. A year later, it became a place where OTK members like Emiru could call home.

Not to be outdone, Esfand decided to build a content house of his very own just months after Mizkif posted his house walkthrough. Esfand dropped his own walkthrough video in April 2021. At the beginning of the video, he explained that he and Mizkif had decided to build houses next door to each other, but his build had gotten delayed into the spring. Between the two homes, OTK got a decent start on a streamer-exclusive neighborhood.

One of the hardest parts about creating any group, whether it's a band or a gaming organization, is coming up with a name. According to Rich Campbell, the original members of OTK had such a difficult time thinking up a good name that they delayed announcing their org by a whole week (per Sportskeeda). Campbell spent the intervening time playing "Magic: The Gathering," and while using his "one turn kill" dragon deck, he had the idea to use initials "OTK" as a name. He said either Tips Out or Asmongold had the idea to change the meaning of "OTK" to "One True King," and their organization was officially named.

It turns out that "One True King" and "one turn kill" aren't the only meanings behind OTK. While streaming on Twitch, Asmongold learned that some online use the abbreviation to mean "over the knee" – a euphemism for spanking that's common enough it's even been printed onto paddles that are sold through outlets like Amazon. "I ... I didn't know that," Asmongold said, before looking away, torn between laughter and embarrassment. The group decided to take this revelation in stride.

"SMITE" is a free-to-play arena game that's been going strong for over eight years now. Through the years, "SMITE" stayed relevant by partnering up with artists, streamers, and brands for a slew of crossovers. The game has plenty of fans amongst the OTK crew, so it made sense when Mizkif announced that he'd be working with developer Titan Forge Games to make June 2022 into "'SMITE' Month."

The collaboration saw Mizkif actually appear in-game as the god Thanatos and included a bunch of rewards for "Smite" players who wanted to get in on the action. In addition to the month-long event, OTK hosted a massive "SMITE" tournament that featured 40 different streamers – including OTK's own Emiru, Nmplol, Tectone, Esfand, and Cyr – organized into teams of five. 

With $100,000 on the line, the fierce competition got underway on June 27, and Tectone's team eventually came out on top. The collaboration worked out well for both OTK and "SMITE," and it may have laid the groundwork for future crossover events with major multiplayer titles.

Following nearly two years of fairly steady success, OTK became embroiled in controversy in the later part of 2022. Twitch streamer Adrianah Lee wrote a TwitLonger post in July saying that Mizkif's roommate and fellow streamer, CrazySlick, had touched her inappropriately while she was asleep at a party. Then in September, Mizkif and streamer Trainwreck got into an argument about Twitch's new gambling policy, and Trainwreck accused Mizkif of trying to cover up what CrazySlick had done. More people jumped into the conversation, but then things took a turn when Ice_Poseidon dropped screenshots of messages from Mizkif showing the OTK founder using racist and homophobic slurs.

Hours after Ice_Poseidon's screenshots were released, OTK posted a statement of its own. "Due to the seriousness of what's been brought forward, we have begun the process of contracting a third-part legal organization to investigate the issue in detail," OTK wrote. Mizkif will be on a leave of absence until the investigation concludes and OTK decides how to move forward. The day after OTK made its statement, Mizkif broke his silence on the issue. 

Via TwitLonger, Mizkif apologize for downplaying what had happened to Adrianah and said he'd asked CrazySlick to move out of his house. In response to Ice_Poseidon's tweet, he said, "I was a dumb, edgy guy who said a lot of stupid things to my friends to try and come off as funny and cool." He ended his statement with a thank you to his supporters and promised to do better in the future.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).