Which tech giant acquired Twitch in 2014?

Amazon acquired Twitch in 2014, purchasing Twitch Interactive in an all-cash deal announced on August 25.

The acquisition closed on September 25, 2014, and Twitch continued operating as a subsidiary. Twitch had grown from a gaming-focused livestreaming service into a major platform where viewers watched gameplay, esports, creative broadcasts, and live events. Amazon’s ownership gave the service access to the company’s technology infrastructure and wider media ecosystem.

The deal followed intense interest from larger technology companies. Google was widely reported to have considered acquiring Twitch, but concerns surrounding Google’s ownership of YouTube reportedly complicated that possibility. Amazon ultimately secured the purchase, while Twitch co-founder Emmett Shear continued as chief executive for several years.

Amazon later connected Twitch more closely with its Prime membership program. Twitch Prime, announced in 2016, offered eligible Amazon Prime members benefits such as game-related content and other channel features. A common mix-up is choosing Google because of YouTube’s video dominance, but Google did not acquire Twitch; Amazon did.