Citing sources “familiar with the matter”, GamesBeat reports that Google is acquiring streaming video network Twitch in a deal worth $1 billion.
This backs up a previous report in May from Variety, which said the acquisition was taking place, but The Wall Street Journal reported that the discussions between the companies were “at an early stage”.
Twitch was launched in 2011 by Justin Kan and Emmett Shear, the co-founders of Justin.tv. The network has seen massive success over the past few years. According to Twitch, over 50 million people watch livestreams on the service each month. Microsoft and Sony have both integrated Twitch streaming and viewing natively into the Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
(via Polygon)