Amazon kauft Twitch für fast 1 Milliarde Dollar

Lange wurde über eine Übernahme des Online-Streamingdienstes von einem der Branchenriesen spekuliert (wir berichteten). Größter und heißester Kandidat für eine Übernahme von twitch.tv war dabei immer Google, die vor geraumer Zeit auch schon YouTube unter ihre Fittiche genommen hatten. Mit twitch hätte hierbei ein wirkliches Monopol geschaffen werden können, doch es kam wie Twitch.tv nun selbst berichtete, vollkommen anders.

So hat nun der Online-Shop Gigant Amazon, 970 Millionen Dollar in die Hand genommen und den Zuschlag erhalten. Eine Wahnsinns Summe.

Was genau Amazon mit twitch.tv vor hat ist so kurz nach der Übernahme natürlich noch nicht absehbar, doch passt dieser Schritt irgendwie doch in das Schema, welches Amazon mit dem Ausbau ihres Instant Video Dienstes in letzter Zeit vorantreibt.

Hier, die Originalnachricht von CEO Emmett Shear, die momentan auf der Twitch-Seite zu finden ist:

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.

Quelle: Twitch.tv