YouTube may have just made its biggest deal to date. The streaming giant is said to be in the process of acquiring live streaming platform Twitch for $1 billion, according to Variety.

Twitch, launched in 2011, is a video game streaming company where users can upload and view other users’ gameplay with no charge (or with a subscription for those users who don’t want ads). Videos of users playing these games can then be streamed via consoles such as Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Currently, Twitch claims more than 45 million monthly users with more than 1 million actively uploading gameplay videos. Its biggest competitor in the eSports realm, Major League Gaming, also targets the male 18-34 audience but focuses more on live events.

According to Mashable, Twitch had more than 12,000 logged in to play “Pokémon Red/Blue” together earlier this year, in what was called “one of the most popular open source gaming experiences ever.”

Twitch also has deals with content partners including CBS, GameSpot and Joystiq to distribute their shows through its platform.

Read more at Variety and The Verge.

Brief Take: If the acquisition goes through, it shows how much faith YouTube has placed in gaming and live streaming for its platform, but also in the growing fan base of eSports, an emerging and rapidly growing sector of online viewing.

[Image courtesy of Twitch]

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