Google has agreed to purchase game livestreaming service Twitch for $1 billion according to sources familiar with the matter. Both companies have declined to comment as of writing.
VentureBeat, who is reporting the news, admits they don't have all of the specifics on the deal or when it'll be officially announced, but they claim Twitch investors that participated in past funding rounds are pleased with the returns they are getting.
News of the merger first broke back in May when Variety claimed YouTube was looking to spend $1 billion to acquire Twitch. If announced under the YouTube banner, it would be the largest acquisition related to YouTube since it was acquired by Google back in 2006 for $1.65 billion.
Twitch has exploded in popularity over the past few years. In June 2011, the service boasted 3.2 million monthly active users. That figure has since jumped to more than 50 million monthly active users with more than 1.1 million people broadcasting each month. Over 13 billion minutes of video are watched each month through the service.
Twitch's popularity goes hand in hand with the rise in popularity of eSports in general. Valve inked a deal with ESPN just last week for coverage of The International Dota 2 Championships, an eSports tournament with a prize pool of more than $10 million. A five-man Chinese team by the name of NewBee took home the $5 million first place prize.
