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Twitch Reportedly Being Purchased by Amazon, Not Google/YouTube

Despite a pair of reports earlier this year suggesting that Google–through its YouTube subsidiary–would acquire Twitch, new reports state it is instead Amazon that will purchase the game streaming site.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Amazon has agreed to a deal that will see it acquire Twitch for $1 billion. This follows an early report from The Information which stated that the deal could be announced soon (the WSJ says official word may come today), but that it was unclear if anything had yet to be signed.

This comes as a surprise given that YouTube was widely believed to be the site’s buyer. Variety reported in May that it would acquire Twitch for $1 billion, a prospect that was reinforced by a VentureBeat report last month. Although neither of the companies involved had officially addressed the possibility, it was presumed to be on the verge of completion when Twitch recently began implementing the YouTube-like policy of automatically muting videos containing copyrighted audio earlier this month. The WSJ‘s sources indicate talks between Google and Twitch have “cooled” as of late.

Twitch is the largest live-streaming website in the United States by a wide margin, according to a report released this spring, and has expanded into non-gaming ventures, like streaming concerts. Amazon has become aggressive about gaining a foothold in the video game industry, attracting talent like the designers of Portal and Far Cry and purchasing Killer Instinct developer Double Helix Games.

GameSpot has contacted both Amazon and Twitch and will report back with anything we learn.

Chris Pereira is a freelance writer for GameSpot, and you can follow him on Twitter @TheSmokingManX
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