Back when I was a kid, you probably would have been ridiculed for declaring your aspirations on Careers Day to become a social influencer but with their rising popularity, dynamics are changing to the point where gaming influencers are transitioning to promoting their own games, rather than those developed by the major studios.

With this power transition in the gaming industry, game developer PlaySide Studios (ASX: PLY) has increased its exposure in the space having been engaged by gaming influencer organisation One True King (OTK) to co-develop a new multiplayer PC based title.

Making PlaySide attractive to OTK is the unique service that PlaySide offers where they complete work based on fixed-price development contracts. This has become particularly popular for prospective Playside clients who don’t need to worry about development costs being blown out before receiving their work.

“We are excited to collaborate with reputable gaming influencer organisation OTK which consists of some of the biggest streamers in the world and has a total reach of over 21 million followers worldwide,” said PlaySide CEO, Gerry Sakkas.

“We are continually working to expand our presence within the industry via unique partnerships. This codevelopment opportunity with OTK – our third since listing – allows us to further leverage the PlaySide brand and reinforces our position as Australia’s leading publicly listed gaming developer.”

The exact value of the co-development contract has not been disclosed but Playside will receive milestone-based development with a material revenue share model post launch with a planned release date around December 2022.

Working together, Playside is responsible for all development services including design, production, programming, user interface and experience, and publishing as part of the co-development. OTK will then be responsible for approving all elements to ensure they are depicted in a manner consistent with the integrity and artistic representation of OTK and its clients.

Both companies will then share the advertising costs in the same ratio as the profit share and OTK is responsible for marketing the title to its audience via its various social media platforms.

Established in 2020, OTK Network is a US-based influencer network, gaming and production organisation with a total reach of over 21 million followers by some of the world’s biggest streamers including Asmongold, Mizkif, and Esfand who have a combined following of 9.4 million subscribers.

The OTK deal follows on from the landmark 7-figure contract won by Playside last month when engaged for development work by global gaming giant 2K Games, creators of Grand Theft Auto, the NBA 2K series, Borderlands and many more.

Following that contract win, Playside successfully raised $25 million from an institutional Placement at $0.75 per share while the Company also has a $3m Share Purchase Plan currently open to eligible shareholders at the same Offer Price.

PLY shares responded well to news of the OTK co-development partnership to reach a high of $0.91 in morning trade, a 8.3% rise on their previous $0.84