Artesian Builds Suspends Activities Amidst Twitch Scandal
On the first of March, Twitch channel Artesian Builds refused to award the winner of its PC giveaway her prize. CEO Noah Katz was reading out winner Kiapiaa's Twitch stats, and in a derogatory tone made it pretty clear he wouldn't be giving her the prize because she was too small a streamer. Now, Artesian Builds has shut down entirely.
Backlash to the giveaway, sponsored by Intel, drew the large company's attention and prompted it to release a statement which read, "We strive towards welcoming streamers of all sizes to our programs and do not agree with recent negative comments directed towards small streamers. We're reaching out to relevant parties to address the situation."
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PC Gamer reported that Katz also published a video and written apology, but both appear to have been deleted from his 138 follower Twitter account. Apparently he acknowledged his "lack of sensitivity," and also said, "I take full accountability and sincerely apologize."
Kiapiaa was rightfully offered her prize, but said, "No ty. Take me off your ambassador list." Since her initial thread outlining the events, several other streamers and sponsors have spoken out against Artesian Builds or severed ties with it, as reported by Dot Esports.
On March 5, the Artesian Builds Twitter account tweeted, "At this point we are examining a potential employee-led buy-out of the company. Thank you for your support," after four days of silence.
Today, it announced it would be suspending all activities and is undergoing outside analysis in order to reorganise the company. It said it is hoping to ensure fair treatment of employees, creditors, and clients, and is also open to investment.
It's pretty wild
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