The latest edition of one of the top annual streamer organization events, OTK Games Expo, was held at the WePlay Esports Arena Los Angeles on May 25. Filled with new trailers and surprise announcements on a night that spotlighted and brought together the indie games community ahead of a summer full of video game showcases.
The OTK Games Expo 2025 showcased some of the best upcoming indie games from developers from all around the world. This included over 50 titles from genres like action, adventure, strategy, cozy, horror, shooters, and platformers.
This year's iteration of everyone's favorite influencer-led games expo saw slightly more subdued coverage than previous years. A total of 66 channels livestreamed proceedings from California, led by former OTK co-founder and co-owner Zack "zackrawrr" Hoyt (aka Asmongold), helping it just about gather over 104,000 Peak Viewers (PV).
The other renowned content creators to have broadcast the OTK Games Expo 2025 were Chance "sodapoppin" Morris, Quintin "quin69" Crawford, Tim "esfandtv" Esfandiari, and Sebastian "forsen" Fors. Unsurprisingly, despite his recent move away from the organization, Asmongold emerged as the most successful channel, averaging just under 50,000 concurrent viewers during his livestream.
What helped was that Asmongold had drops activated, which is always a good way to attract more viewers to any live stream. The American star seemed pretty impressed with what he witnessed in terms of the indie titles that were showcased.
"They did a really good job, man. I was happy about it, and honestly, I'm glad to see it go so well. I mean, I was gone and involved in my own thing, like I was not invovled in this s**t at all, to be honest. The fact is, it went well, and I'm happy. I'm thrilled."
- Asmongold
Among the video games that turned heads on Sunday night was Permafrost from publisher Toplitz Production, with its new trailer offering an in-depth look at the game's bleak and beautiful setting, its survival-driven tension, and the human stories buried beneath the snow.
Now available to wishlist on Steam, Permafrost is set in a future world where ice has swallowed civilization, and those still alive must fight for survival among fractured factions, deadly cold fronts, and crumbling remnants of the past. With a planned release date for 2025, developer SpaceRocket Games has promised that Early Access for this action-adventure RPG title will be out soon.
The highlight of the show for many viewers was the appearance and interview of a seven-year-old video game developer. Hosts Bruce Greene and Ovilee sat down with Logan, whose pixel-art adventure platformer, Pigeon's Mission, sees players "guide Archie through Pepper Pines as he unleashes clever attacks, fun power-ups, and the all-new Harvest Pulse System to collect golden seeds, power up, & save Archie's parents in this exciting & nostalgic journey."
Since its debut in 2022, the OTK Games Expo has built a name for itself as a platform that showcases many of the lesser-known video games, publishers, and developers. Its early editions were a lot more successful in terms of audience reach, as the more recent shows have coincided with many other similar events as part of the summer video games showcase calendar.
Nevertheless, it remains a massive stage for indie game developers and publishers to showcase their work to a wider audience base, which is always helpful in attracting sponsors and partners. The 2025 iteration was no different, serving as a tantalizing appetizer for much bigger video game showcases later in the summer, including the Summer Games Fest.
