According to a new report by Games Beat YouTube owner Google are set acquire the popular game streaming service.
The acquisition was rumoured back in May. There was also rumoured the possibility that Microsoft are in the mix of potential purchasers but the report confirms the Google has signed the deal though exact details are yet to be confirmed.
Google nor Twitch have come forward with any official announcement on the matter and have refused to comment on the deal.
The live streaming service has been growing in popularity since its inception in June 2011 and was reported in March by Sandvine to constitute 1.35% of all internet traffic with 50 more than million active users and over a million users broadcasting each month.
Twitch allows users to broadcast gameplay sessions from their PC, PS4 or Xbox One or view broadcasters gameplay sessions from a multitude of devices including their PC, laptops, smart phones, tablets and gaming consoles.
The popularity of eSports is largely behind the growth in the viewing service and around $2.4 billion hours of eSports being viewed in last year alone.
Game developers, publishers and service providers like Twitch are not completely at harmony at the moment with some in the industry claiming that developers/publishers should be entitled to a share of the revenue generated by services like Twitch.
Nintendo, similarly and quite controversially spoke out against letsplay videos on YouTube stating that they should be entitled to ad revenue generated from the views on such videos. This did not register well with the gaming community though Nintendo have recently announced an affiliate programme which will split the ad revenue between the YouTuber, Nintendo and YouTube themselves.
With the proposed acquisition, what do you think this means for the gaming industry and what changes would you like to see in the future of the service? Let us know in the comments below.
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