It appears that rumours of Google buying out Twitch were completely untrue. News has surfaced that it is Amazon who have successfully come to an agreement to purchase the video game streaming service. This has been corroborated by reports from the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg. What Amazon intends to do with its new acquisition is still unknown, although there are indications that the service will be allowed to operate independently for now.
Twitch CEO, Emmett Shear, issued a statement on the website thanking the community for their support for the last three years, and explains that the company will be keeping everything the same. He goes on to say that Amazon will provide Twitch with the resources to provide a better service to its users.
Forbes has reported that the initial deal with Google failed to happen due to anti-trust concerns. Google would essentially own both Youtube and Twitch, providing them with control over all the streaming services on the internet worth mentioning. Mountain View was apparently worried about any potential fees that would be charged should the deal fail to gain approval from the authorities. It is a valid concern for Google considering the legal challenges that the internet giant is facing in Europe.
This move is extremely unusual for for Amazon, who do not spend large amounts of money to buy over companies. Especially one that has so little to do with its core business. Whatever it is, users can probably rest assured that the more absurd parts of Twitch will remain intact for now.
[Source: Ars Technica]
