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Artesian Builds was a relatively stable and well-to-do PC-making company for a prolonged period of time within the sphere of the streaming community. However, in late-February 2022, some disconcerting details, coupled with comments from their CEO, led the company towards a downward spiral.
Twitch streamers often partner with PC-making companies to give them the opportunity to produce content at the highest level. Artesian Builds has had collaborations with multiple big-time streamers such as Mizkif and Adin Ross. However, it was due to their decisions, or more precisely, their CEO's towards the smaller streaming community that led to their debasement.
The company over the last few months has not only lost their footing in the streaming community due to controversial comments made online, but has faced financial insolvency and tax evasion charges. Presently, the company is auctioning its stock that's worth around a million dollars.
Rejection of a smaller streamer sparked the demise of Artesian Builds
Although Artesian Builds had stable relationships with streamers for a long period of time, CEO Noah Katz and his mismanagement is widely thought to be the main catalyst for their insolvent status.
What started the free fall was a botched up give away back in February 2022. During one of their livestreams, they announced that a Twitch streamer named Kiapiaa would be the recipient of the giveaway.
However, a controversy occurred when Noah Katz decided to revoke the small-time streamer's prize due to the 'insufficient' number of followers on her Twitch and other social accounts.
In a condescending tone, Katz was heard saying:
"2K followers is under my threshold...3 days ago (Kiapiaa's last upload) is within my threshold...long streams, which is good. Let's see if you have redeeming qualities."
He proceeded to belittle the streamer further by saying:
"All followers combined still under 5K, even across multiple socials. I was trying to be generous...mmm, that's a tough one."
He then went on to re-roll the giveaway before announcing a new winner. According to Noah, Kiapiaa was not eligible to be the winner because she,
"Has three months ambassadorship and not a single click. Not even once....Purged."
This led to a flurry of criticism and flak coming at the way of the CEO from the gaming community, including Kiapiaa herself, who called out Noah. Her tweet went on to receive thousands of likes and support from various streamers.
To make matters worse, employees within the company revealed the mismanagement that Noah had imposed within the company and its staff.
Allegations of tax evasion have also come up against Noah's name. It was revealed that the status of the company had also changed. In lieu of making tax returns, the company's CEO was seen buying a new car. Within the space of a few weeks, the company furloughed a handful of employees, and the company's license was eventually revoked.
In April, the company announced that they had filed for bankruptcy with over $3 million in debt, with orders estimated to be over $1 million that remained unfulfilled. It is also in debt to two distributors worth over $400K.
In June 2022, Artesian Builds announced that they had organised an official auction of their assets, including undelivered PCs that were ordered by streamers. Here's what they posted on their Twitter page:
Here's what Twitter users shared regarding the entire situation
Fans across the gaming platform have been largely critical of the management of the company. Many fans shared their experiences on social media platforms and revealed that they did not receive their orders even after completing payments. Here's what the internet had to say:
It is believed that even after auctioning their assets and stocks, Artesian Builds will still be under debt of over a million USD. However, many also added that auctiotioning off PCs and components of streamers that they did not deliver could have further legal repercussions.
