Google Looking to Buy Twitch Game Streaming Service: Report

Google Inc was said to be in talks to acquire video-streaming service Twitch, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal on Sunday. Officials at Google and Twitch declined to comment on the matter.

The report said the size of the deal could not be learned and discussions between the parties were at an early stage. In addition, the company was said to be looking at raising additional funding instead of selling itself.

In September, Twitch raised $20 million in funding from Thrive Capital, WestSummit Capital and Take-Two Interactive Software Inc, among other parties.

Twitch announced in March that it was bringing its gaming video streaming to iOS devices. The functionality is optimised for the iPhone 5s, iPad Air, and iPad mini with Retina display.

Earlier, Twitch only allowed you to stream your games from PCs, but more recently, Twitch was integrated into the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One. Impressively, iOS gamers will now be able to stream video of the game they're playing, and also use the camera and microphone on their iOS device to stream video (and audio) of themselves while playing.

Gameloft is the first partner with Twitch in adding this functionality, and its Asphalt 8: Airborne (review) is going to be the first game to integrate with Twitch.

The Twitch-iOS device integration can only be activated on a game by game basis though - unlike with a PS4 or an Xbox One, where Twitch is integrated at the console level, here, developers will need to implement Twitch themselves.

Written with inputs from Reuters