I received a letter from Twitch’s CEO (all twitch users did). In it he let’s us know that Amazon has acquired Twitch. Below in his letter, follow by some more info form a Yahoo article.
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.
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.
Emmett Shear, CEO
End CEO’s letter.
Amazon (AMZN) wants to be a player in the content game. The e-commerce giant is expanding its reach into video games and original content in an effort to compete with Netflix (NFLX) and YouTube for the rapidly-growing audience for streaming video.
Amazon has agreed to buy Twitch, an online video platform and community for gamers, for $970 million in cash. Amazon reportedly could pay an additional $100 million if Twitch hits certain performance metrics. Twitch’s 55 million global users either broadcast their gaming matches or watch other users compete. That user-base makes Twitch one of the 15 most-trafficked websites around the world. And that is a big deal for Amazon, as the rivalry for control of online content intensifies by the day.
Amazon’s decision to acquire Twitch proves Amazon wants to be a content player in addition to a retail juggernaut says Yahoo Finance Editor-in-Chief Aaron Task in the video above.
“A billion dollars for this thing?” Task asks. “But when you look at the numbers, it makes perfect sense for Amazon to go in there and buy this because the people who are dedicated to this stuff are so dedicated. That’s been the story for years: gamers [are] recession-proof.”
The twin efforts to expand into gaming and original content are a strategic move on Amazon’s part as more and more eyeballs are focused on streaming video, and as a result, more and more advertising dollars.
“The strategy for Amazon is part of their broader strategy to get you to do so much more of what you’re already doing online at Amazon,” says Task. “They already have a great share of the market for online commerce, and now they want it to be a content play as well.”
End article.
My thoughts…
Is this a good deal for gamers? Well, that remains to be seen. If Emmett’s words stay true about Twitch not losing assets, then it will be okay for gamers. This will have to be looked at long term though.
Obviously it was great for Emmett and others who invested into the company.
One thing I’m wondering is, did 343/Microsoft know of the Amazon deal BEFORE they signed the deal to have the Halo Channel or not? If not, how might that impact the Halo Channel? I suspect there won’t be any major impact. Being this close to the release of the Master Chief Collection and plenty of work having been put into the Halo Channel, I suspect it will launch as expected. Now, will the Halo Channel stay on Twitch though or move to something else? Again, something to look at later. Right now, it seems 343 doesn’t have the manpower to devote to something like Twitch specifically for Halo.
I know one thing…I’m kicking myself in the arse right now. I met Emmett back in October of 2012. I still have his business card. Damn, if I had gotten a job with Twitch back then….Well, I can only dream of what that might have become.
-Sal