Amazon koopt Twitch voor 970 miljoen dollar

Hoewel lange tijd werd aangenomen dat Google de videostreamingdienst Twitch over zou nemen, is nu gebleken dat de zoekgigant achter het net heeft gevist. Ondanks eerdere berichtgeving dat Google al zo goed als rond zou zijn met Twitch, is nu naar buiten gebracht dat de webwinkel Amazon het winnende bod heeft uitgebracht.

Amazon zal voor 970 miljoen dollar, circa 735 miljoen euro, de dienst overnemen waarmee vele gamers hun avonturen en bezigheden kunnen streamen en zo kunnen uitzenden voor geïnteresseerden. Naar het schijnt zou Google circa één miljard dollar hebben willen betalen voor Twitch, waarbij de dienst zou worden overgenomen door Google-dienst YouTube.

De baas van Twitch, Emmett Shear, heeft via de onderstaande boodschap laten weten dat men voor een overname door Amazon heeft gekozen vanwege een overeenkomstige langetermijnvisie. Ook zou Twitch zijn onafhankelijkheid kunnen blijven behouden na de overname van Amazon:

Dear Twitch Community,

It’s almost unbelievable that slightly more than 3 years ago, Twitch didn’t exist. The moment we launched, we knew we had stumbled across something special. But what followed surprised us as much as anyone else, and the impact it’s had on both the community and us has been truly profound.

Your talent, your passion, your dedication to gaming, your memes, your brilliance – these have made Twitch what it is today. Every day, we strive to live up to the standard set by you, the community. We want to create the very best place to share your gaming and life online, and that mission continues to guide us.

Together with you, we’ve found new ways of connecting developers and publishers with their fans. We’ve created a whole new kind of career that lets people make a living sharing their love of games. We’ve brought billions of hours of entertainment, laughter, joy and the occasional ragequit. I think we can all call that a pretty good start.

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.

I personally want to thank you, each and every member of the Twitch community, for what you’ve created. Thank you for putting your faith in us. Thank you for sticking with us through growing pains and stumbles. Thank you for bringing your very best to us and sharing it with the world. Thank you, from a group of gamers who never dreamed they’d get to help shape the face of the industry that we love so much.

It’s dangerous to go alone. On behalf of myself and everyone else at Twitch, thank you for coming with us.