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Twitch is acquiring Internet Games Database (IGDB), a comprehensive and community resource that gathers “all relevant information about games in one place”.
Founded in 2014 in Gothenburg, Sweden, the IGDB aims to build a comprehensive catalogue of video games, including information about genres, reviews, game length, release dates, game modes, synopsises, and characters, not dissimilar to its movie equivalent, IMDb.
Amazon-owned Twitch has now purchased the company to improve its search system, whilst IGDB says the acquisition will help it “tap into [Twitch’s] experience, resources, and skills, which will enable us to accelerate our progress and deliver the version of IGDB we all always dreamed about”.
“From our first beta version in 2014, IGDB has been dedicated to creating the ultimate resource for game lovers everywhere,” said IGDB’s Jerome Richer de Forges (thanks, TechCrunch). “Our team has worked hard to grow our community of passionate gamers and bring our mission to life. A passion project grew into something that could empower the entire gaming industry.
“Today, we are very excited to announce the next chapter of our story: IGDB has joined the Twitch family! Millions of people visit Twitch every day to connect with their favourite streamers and communities. This opportunity takes IGDB to a whole new level, giving us the opportunity to be an even bigger part of your gaming life.”
IGDB has confirmed the site itself will not shutter under its new ownership, and in fact, a prior premium API tier is merging with its free service.
“Going forward, that means that you will now contribute information to Twitch as well as IGDB and the thousands of apps, services, and websites that are powered by this information,” Jerome Richer de Forges concluded.
