Considering that Google already had its foot in the door for video streaming online with YouTube, it is surprising that they did not also become the go to solution for livestreaming video games. That mantle was instead taken up by Ustream and Twitch (the latter now owned by Amazon, though there were rumors that Google was looking into acquiring the service).
There did use to be a YouTube livestreaming service, but it was a bust- now, industry insiders report that Google is planning on bringing the service back, and that it has already started to recruit engineers experienced in the field.
“The time is right as well, with Twitch moving into other areas such as music and so on. Google doesn’t want to be too far behind in the arms race,” they continued.
These same sources think that the two areas that Google will be targeting with its new service will be gaming and eSports, both of which, they feel, present Google with great opportunities.
“There’ll be huge opportunities for established streamers and organizations soon and I would say that the record numbers of eSports viewers are only going to grow when Google start promoting and partnering with these events.”
These sources claim that an announcement is imminent at E3 this year, so we’ll know soon either way. Personally, however, none of this sounds too far fetched to me.
