Twitch, the streaming platform known for broadcasting its streamers’ gameplays to users across a wide breadth of genres and interests, has acquired the Internet Game Database. The IGDB catalogues different games within its database to provide information about who made them, what they’re about, whether they’re worth playing or not based on reviews, and other information that’s relevant to those needing to know something about a game. It began as a startup back in 2014 and will now use the support from Twitch to continue its efforts.

The acquisition of the IGDB was announced by product manager Jerome Richer De Forges who shared a post on Medium discussing the details of the agreement. De Forges said the opportunities presented by the deal will allow IGDB to become a bigger part of gamers’ lives through Twitch’s power to connect with players, viewers, and the rest of the community.

As an explanation for why it chose to align itself with Twitch, the post said the acquisition will allow IGDB to move forward faster and deliver a better version of the product to its users.

“Our mission has always been to build the most comprehensive gaming database in the world,” the post said. “Such a monumental undertaking can be quite challenging when you are a small startup team. By joining Twitch, we will be able to tap into their experience, resources, and skills, which will enable us to accelerate our progress and deliver the version of IGDB we all always dreamed about. Not only that, our companies share the same culture, core values, and passion for gaming– making this the perfect fit.”

Big news! We are joining forces with Twitch! A huge thank you to everyone in our community! More details in the blog!
-https://t.co/4PSdFKbdH8

— IGDB | Welcome Home, Gamer! (@IGDBcom) September 17, 2019

For those who were already using IGDB, Richer said the site’s API is “here to stay” and that the premium and free tiers will be merged into one free tier. Anyone who contributes information to the IGDB will also be contributing information to Twitch going forward.

IGDB is a site which looks to achieve a similar goal to IMDb, the database for movies, though the two were unrelated up until this point. While still separate entities, it’s worth noting that Amazon, the owner of Twitch, also owns the IMDb.

Posted: Sep 20, 2019 4:55 pm
Related Forum: Media Forum

Source: https://comicbook.com/gaming/2019/09/18/twitch-acquires-internet-game-database/