Facebook gets in game-streaming with Blizzard

SAN FRANCISCO, California – Facebook on Monday announced that it is getting into the eSports game, jumping into the field of video games as spectator sports against Amazon-owned Twitch and Google’s YouTube Gaming.

Later this month, people will be able to use Facebook accounts to log in to Blizzard Entertainment computer games such as “World of Warcraft.”

The move will pave the way for Blizzard game fans to use the leading social network’s Live video service to broadcast play in real time, the companies said in a joint release.

California-based Blizzard, owned by video game publisher Activision, is in the process of creating a “Go Live” feature that would let players stream on-screen action to Facebook timelines, according to the companies.

Blizzard games in line for the Facebook streaming capability included freshly released “Overwatch.”

The collaboration will add social features to Blizzard games while highlighting Facebook as a platform for sharing, viewing and discussing play, the companies said.

“Our collaboration on ‘Overwatch’ demonstrates Facebook’s commitment to partnering with AAA game companies, while further empowering Blizzard gamers to connect and share the content they’re most passionate about with the friends they play with around the world,” said Facebook global games director Leo Olebe.

“Overwatch” is a team-based shooter game played online.

Facebook earlier this year ramped up its challenge to Twitter-owned Periscope with upgrades to the social network’s live video broadcasting feature.

A new featured was added to the Live streaming feature at Facebook to let people “broadcast: to groups at the social network or in scheduled “events.”

Facebook Live launched in the middle of last year and was initially limited to celebrities but recently opened to a wider audience of broadcasters.

- eSports heavyweights -

Getting into the eSports game will pit Facebook against heavyweight rivals including pioneering firm Twitch and popular online video sharing service YouTube, owned by Google-parent Alphabet.

Yahoo Esports launched about two months ago as an online venue for live tournaments, commentary, features, interviews and more tailored for the booming trend of video games as spectator sports.

The rollout of YouTube Gaming in the middle of last year marked the public debut of an online spot where video game lovers can find commentary, live play, on-demand snippets and more.

The online arena for video game channels incorporates the search smarts of Google to surface fresh or must-see content.

US online retail giant Amazon snatched up Twitch and its huge audience for live-streamed gaming in 2014.

The acquisition was one of the largest in Amazon’s history — $970 million in cash for the three-year-old Internet company.

Twitch Interactive streams games being played for non-playing viewers to watch, and hosts gaming events.

It allows viewers to chat with the players and others, lending it some of the qualities of social networking websites, and it also sells advertising to generate income.

source: interaksyon.com

Amazon snaps up live video startup Twitch for $970 million

SAN FRANCISCO — Amazon.com Inc snapped up live-streaming gaming network Twitch Interactive for about $970 million in cash, reflecting Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos’ resolve to transform Amazon into an Internet destination beyond its core retail operations.

The move, announced by the two companies on Monday, is the largest deal in Amazon’s 20-year history and will help the U.S. e-commerce company vie with Apple Inc and Google Inc in the fast-growing world of online gaming, which accounts for more than 75 percent of all mobile app sales. 


The acquisition involves some retention agreements that push the deal over $1 billion, a source close to the deal told Reuters.

“Twitch will further push Amazon into the gaming community while also helping it with video and advertising,” Macquarie Research analyst Ben Schachter said in a note.

Twitch’s format, which lets viewers message players and each other during live play, is garnering interest as one of the fastest-growing segments of digital video streaming, which in turn is attracting more and more advertising dollars.

The deal, expected to close in the second half of the year, is an unusual step for Amazon, which tends to build from within or make smaller acquisitions. Tech rival Google was earlier in talks to buy Twitch, which launched slightly more than three years ago, one person briefed on the deal said.

Neither Amazon nor Twitch would discuss how the deal came together or comment on Google’s interest.

In an interview, Twitch Chief Executive Officer Emmett Shear said the startup contacted Amazon because its deep pockets and ad sales expertise would allow the startup to pursue its strategic objectives more quickly.

“The reason why we reached out to Amazon, the reason I thought working for Amazon, having Twitch being a part of Amazon, would be a great idea for us (because) they would give us the resources to pursue these things that we honestly already want to pursue and they’d let us do it faster,” Shear said.

Ethan Kurzweil, a partner at Bessemer Ventures, which has backed Twitch since its earliest days, said Amazon’s expertise in developer platforms through Amazon Web Services gave it a window into Twitch’s potential growth.

“They understand the power of engaged developer platforms,” he said, noting Twitch’s popularity with game developers and publishers was as important as its popularity with consumers.

Bessemer provided Twitch an introduction to Frank Quattrone, a banker at boutique investment bank Qatalyst Partners, with a view to “catalyzing interest in Twitch,” Kurzweil said.

Quattrone advised Amazon on its 1997 initial public offering.

Twitch raised $20 million in funding last September from game publisher Take-Two Interactive Software and firms such as Bessemer Venture Partners and Thrive Capital.

Other venture backers include Alsop Louie Partners and Draper Associates.

More than 55 million unique visitors viewed more than 15 billion minutes of content on Twitch in July.

Some video game live casters on Twitch have embedded links to the Amazon’s online store. Analysts said the deal may result in more product tie-ins and a deeper integration with Amazon Instant Video and Amazon devices like the Kindle Fire tablet and recently launched Fire TV set-top box.

Twitch and Amazon did not disclose details on new retail opportunities for Amazon through Twitch’s network of gamers.

“We have lots of ideas we’ve discussed, there’s a lot of interest and a number of things we can pursue,” Michael Frazzini, VP of Amazon Games, said in an interview.

(Reporting by Deepa Seetharaman and Malathi Nayak; additional reporting by

source: interaksyon.com