OTK gets into game publishing with Mad Mushroom

Gaming org One True King (OTK) is launching its own video game publisher.

Mad Mushroom is “a next-generation indie video game publishing company” that is “positioned to revolutionize the gaming industry [by] utilizing the power of gaming influencers and media platforms,” OTK said in a press release.

Like Bigmode Publishing (another creator-founded game publisher, that one from longtime YouTuber Dunkey) Mad Mushroom won’t develop games in-house, but it’ll sign deals to publish titles from indie creators and studios. It’ll handle alpha/beta testing, distribution, and marketing, and will also chip in “visibility,” it says, by hooking devs up with gaming creators on OTK’s leadership team and talent roster, including Asmongold, Sodapoppin, Emiru, Esfand, and Extra Emily.

Mad Mushroom hopes to help smaller gaming studios “avoid predatory publishing deals and high user acquisition costs,” it says.

“Gaming is at the core of what we do,” Tips Out, OTK’s CEO and co-owner, said in a statement. “Mad Mushroom is a natural next step for us at OTK, and allows us to utilize our combined knowledge of the games industry to help develop and support games that we know our creators and audiences will love. We can showcase these games and studios to millions of gamers from a single stream, giving them immediate exposure and hopefully long-term success.”

Mike Sibowitz, who’s spent 20 years in the gaming industry working at developers and publishers like Activision Blizzard, Square Enix, and KRAFTON, will serve as a leading advisor at Mad Mushroom.

“Our goal at Mad Mushroom is to entitle indie developers with flexible publishing options and personalized guidance,” Sibowitz said. “What sets us apart is our unprecedented exposure through the extensive influencer talent and creators within the OTK Network. By harnessing their power, we can amplify the reach and visibility of indie games, revolutionizing the industry and helping them thrive.”

Mad Mushroom did not say exactly what contracts might look like for game developers and studios who sign titles with it.