Twitch is owned by Amazon

Twitch lets gamers film themselves playing video games. The resulting stream can be watched live on the site, which has a monthly user base of 50 million people.

It has become an essential part of the gaming scene to watch professional gamers play popular video games like League of Legends to an audience of up to 30 million people. In the purchase, Amazon acquired all outstanding shares for Twitch in exchange for $970 million in cash.

“Gameplay is a global phenomenon and Twitch has a platform that brings millions of people together. And amazingly, Twitch is only three years old,” said Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos. Google declined to comment on the Twitch sale to Amazon. Amazon will complete the purchase in the second half of 2014. Twitch is based in San Francisco. Its focus shifted to live video for gamers in 2011, a move that has made Twitch a very fast-growing platform.

In July alone, users watched more than 15 billion minutes of produced footage. The company will not release revenue figures, but in September 2013 it received a $20 million investment from investors including software company Take-Two Interactive and venture capital firms Alsop Louie Partners and Bessemer Venture Partners.

The service has dovetailed with e-sports, as professional gaming is often called. Twitch broadcasts live tournaments for big games like League of Legends and Dota 2, and professional gamers also use Twitch to let viewers watch their practices.

“Before Twitch, gaming was something you did in the basement in the glimmer of the monitor,” said David Cowan, venture capitalist at Bessemer Venture Partners, a major investor in Twitch. “Now it’s something you can do in groups with hundreds and thousands of people.”

It’s not yet clear exactly how Amazon plans to incorporate Twitch into its ever-growing portfolio.