San Francisco - It’s official. Amazon has acquired Twitch for $970-million, the two companies announced on Monday.
Amazon.com is in discussions to acquire Twitch, the live-streaming gaming network that Google had reportedly expressed an interest in buying, tech blog The Information reported on Monday, citing two people familiar with the matter.
Amazon is in “late-stage talks” with Twitch, but it was unclear whether the two parties had signed an agreement, The Information reported. Twitch and Amazon were not immediately available for comment.
Various media first reported in May that Google had sealed an agreement to buy Twitch for $1-billion, but a deal was never confirmed.
San Francisco-based Twitch allows consumers to broadcast live-streams of themselves playing videogames. Its social networking features allow viewers to communicate with one another and the featured gamer during broadcasts. The company says more than 45 million gamers visit its site every month.
Videogames are among the most popular content on YouTube, the world’s No. 1 video website owned by Google. In September, Twitch raised $20-million in funding from Thrive Capital, WestSummit Capital, and Take-Two Interactive Software, among other parties. - Reuters