Amazon Acquires Twitch For $970 Million

Twitch TV CEO Emmett Shear confirmed reports earlier today via his blog that Amazon has acquired the streaming game service for $970 million.

Like when Amazon acquired ComiXology recently, Twitch maintains that a big part of the appeal is the ability to continue to work independently, with management and operations staying more or less the same as they've always been.

Here's part of his announcement:

"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."

Facebook launched an in-house gaming studio back in 2012 and recently acquired Killer Instinct developer Double Helix Games, hiring of Kim Swift, the designer Portal, as a key player in their gaming division. In spite of not being widely regarded as a gaming hub, Amazon's "you can find anything here" interface makes it one of the top sellers of streaming games.

Google had reportedly tried months ago to buy up Twitch for $1 billion and integrate it with YouTube, but apparently management preferred the Amazon deal.

"One of the things that really stood out about Amazon was their approach to acquisitions. We will be a wholly owned subsidiary and and I will remain CEO," Shear told The Verge. "They have a long term vision about how to create big opportunities in the future by investing today."