Amazon is looking to step things up when it comes to Twitch, it’s popular streaming platform that continues to prove to be a financial force.
According to TechCrunch, Twitch, which is owned by Amazon, has acquired social networking platform Bebo.
The two will be working in unison on continuing to build Twitch’s esports business, specifically Twitch Rivals.
Per the report, Twitch acquired Bebo for less than $25 million earlier this month, beating out Discord, which has similar goals in building out it’s esports business.
This was not the first time that Bebo was acquired with hopes and plans of doing much bigger things.
Back in 2008, AOL acquired Bebo for $850 million in a wildly competitive bidding process, but failed to do anything of significance in furthering the development of Bebo, while blending in the AOL audience.
Bebo was later sold, less than two years later, to Criterion Capital for $25 million.
With the popularity of Twitch streamers growing by the day, and the diversity of Twitch channels expanding, Amazon’s mega-hit brand continues to evolve.
Twitch continues to see their platform used for streaming for other things than just gaming, as ASMR Streams, IRL streams, and much more.
It also further distances Twitch from other platforms trying to chip away at their monumental success, including Google, as Mixer streamers are slowly ramping up their numbers, while DLive streams and Caffeine streams are trying to build as well.
The acquisition of Bebo could be the start of something bigger for Amazon, as there have been reports this year that the company is working on a new game streaming service similar to Apple, and Google, according to The Information.
Additionally, with Google’s Stadia on the horizon, it’s good to see Amazon continue to aggressively push, develop, and build on the Twitch platform, continuing to make it an industry leader despite growing competition.