It wasn't so long ago that the rumors first started emerging, way back in the later part of mid-May, that Google (News - Alert) had its eyes on the gaming video haven known as Twitch. The rumors that began at that time suggested that Google was prepared to drop a full billion on the current owners in a bid to take it over and bring it into Google's operations. The rumors back then weren't clear if Google would go for it, and a new report suggests that the bid has indeed gone through, and at the full amount projected.

While neither Google nor Twitch were inclined to comment on the matter, the always popular “sources familiar with the matter” spilled the beans to say that the billion dollar deal had indeed gone through, and for the full $1 billion. The reports further suggest that previous investors are happy by any stretch, however, as said investors will be “...getting significant returns that are multiple times the amount they originally invested.”  Also, the reports suggest that it's YouTube (News - Alert) that's leading the charge on this one as opposed to Google proper, a reasonable enough supposition given that YouTube already has quite a bit of specialty in gaming video, and to take over Twitch would only augment that position.

Twitch made itself a very attractive buyout target in short order by not only reaching a huge number of interested viewers—back in March, reports emerged that said Twitch was responsible for 1.35 percent of all traffic on the Internet. February reports noted that Twitch was the fourth largest source of network traffic in prime time, and even back then, Twitch viewers were on the site for an average of 106 minutes a day, making it advertising heaven. With over 50 million monthly active users, and over 1.1 million broadcasters at last report, it's clear that Twitch was a valuable media property and makes the Google / YouTube offer look almost reasonable. Particularly so given that Twitch is heavy on the streaming, while most of YouTube's content is uploaded.

There seem to be concerns from users and potential uploaders alike, with some already looking to migrate to Hitbox, a similar yet smaller streaming service for games. Competition is, of course, generally a good thing as far as the market goes, so seeing competitors come out eager for a slice of a market that's clearly massive makes more than its share of sense. But what this really proves more than anything is that, indeed, this is a major market. People like watching people play video games, and though this might sound ludicrous in the extreme, it also makes its share of sense as well.  This is a field that's bringing in millions of viewers. Recently, The International—otherwise known as the world championship for Dota 2—put up a prize pool of over $10 million, a record for eSports and on par with many other sports. With these figures in mind, it's easy to see why YouTube—itself well known for video walkthroughs and “let's play” style content—would want access to that kind of audience.

Only time will tell just what comes of all this, but YouTube and Twitch together really does work out well, and should ultimately bring new profitability to YouTube. The idea of eSports appears to be here to stay, and those who wanted proof really needed only look to just how badly Google / YouTube wanted Twitch.