Amazon announced today that it will be acquiring live-streaming gaming site Twitch for $970 million.
The move will help Amazon solidify itself as a major player for online video services. Amazon already has an impressive video library for movies and TV shows and now they’ll be adding gaming to that list. Twitch, if you don’t know, is basically a site that let’s people watch other people play video games. It also hosts video game competitions and eSports tournaments.
According to Amazon, Twitch had more than 55 million gamers visit the site last month.
We’re pleased to announce that we’ve been acquired by @amazon. Here is a letter from our CEO: https://t.co/PEwrXm402n
— Twitch (@Twitch) August 25, 2014
According to NBC News, this is one of Amazon’s most expensive acquisitions to date.
CEO Jeff Bezos said: “Like Twitch, we obsess over customers and like to think differently, and we look forward to learning from them and helping them move even faster to build new services for the gaming community.”
Twitch CEO Emmett Shear voiced a similar sentiment in an open letter to the Twitch community.
Shear writes: “Today, I’m pleased to announce we’ve been acquired by Amazon. We chose Amazon because they believe in our community, they share our values and long-term vision, and they want to help us get there faster. We’re keeping most everything the same: our office, our employees, our brand, and most importantly our independence. But with Amazon’s support we’ll have the resources to bring you an even better Twitch.”
Are you surprised that Amazon purchased Twitch for $970 million? The service has only been around for a few years but it has a huge user base. It was also sought after by companies like Google which undoubtedly drove the price up to nearly $1 billion.
0 Comments