YouTube is reported to have acquired gaming and e-sports video site Twitch for $1 billion.
The Wall Street Journal earlier reported that the talks were progressing, however Variety reports that the deal, to be paid in cash, is sealed and will be announced officially “imminently.”
The acquisition will be the largest for the Google owned YouTube, and follows the elevation of Susan Wojcicki to CEO of YouTube earlier this year.
Twitch was founded in 2011 as a spin-out of Justin.tv’s gaming streams and has become the internets favorite destination for live streaming game play video and game play archival videos. The site attracts over 43 million unique viewers a month who on average watch 90 minutes of live or archived video per visit.
Approximately 1 million of its registered users live stream or upload game play videos a month. Uniquely the service also allows live streaming from the XBox and Playstation gaming consoles.
Twitch beats YouTube’s live streaming service, delivering 44% of all live streamed game play videos a month online. It also ranks 4th for online traffic in the United States, coming in behind Netflix, Google and Apple with 1.8% of all traffic.
The acquisition will be a huge win for Twitch’s investors including Bessemer Venture Partners, Alsop Louie Partners, Draper Associates, and others who invested $35 million in the company over two rounds in 2012 and 2013.
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