We received news several months ago that Google – proprietor of YouTube, Gmail and other such services – was looking to acquire Twitch. Twitch is arguably the most popular online streaming service today despite focusing on just gaming and has over 50 million monthly active users. Google was reportedly negotiating to pay $1 billion for Twitch but we never heard much more beyond rumours.
Now, according to anonymous sources that spoke to Venture Beat, the deal has apparently gone through with investors happy with the result. And yes, it is indeed for $1 billion, with YouTube primarily pushing for it.
With Twitch in its corner, it’s likely that Google will look to slowly integrate the site with its own services like it did when it first bought YouTube. Where it goes from there – and how much Twitch will change – remains to be seen. What are your thoughts on Google buying Twitch and pretty much dominating the online streaming market? Let us know in the comments.