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Twitch acquires Curse, adding another 30 million users to its streaming platforms

The multimedia tech company just became the latest member of Twitch's growing family/empire.

David Craddock

August 16, 2016 2:15 PM

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Twitch formally announced its agreement to acquire Curse and its suite of gaming products and technologies such as Curse Voice and Curse Client.

Evan Freitas, marketing communications manager for Twitch, published a blog explaining some of the motivation behind the decision. "We’ve long been fans of what they’ve been doing and we know a lot of you have been too. As discussions with Curse progressed, we have gotten to know their exceptional team who shares our passion for gaming and are equally committed to supporting communities with an enriched, and more enjoyable experience. This acquisition will help provide gamers with the tools and resources they need to achieve the ultimate gaming experience, a mission shared by both Twitch and Curse."

Along with solid tech, Curse brings to the table an audience of 30+ million users across numerous channels each month. Terms of the acquisition have not been made public.

"We've long been fans of Curse, which is an innovator in the games industry with a strong culture built around its offerings--from Curse Voice and Curse Client to Gamepedia," said Twitch CEO Emmett Shear. "While it's still early days for Twitch and Curse, we're kindred spirits in many ways and are looking forward to working together to enhance our users' gaming experience."

"I'm really excited to see how we can bring Curse services into the Twitch network, and provide an unparalleled experience to both Curse and Twitch users," said Curse CEO Hubert Thieblot. "This is going to be terrific for the millions of players who use Curse, and for the larger gaming community."

The Russian-nesting-doll-like hierarchy of company ownership extends beyond Twitch. Amazon acquired the streaming giant for $1 billion in 2014.

David Craddock

Long Reads Editor

David L. Craddock writes fiction, nonfiction, and grocery lists. He is the author of the Stay Awhile and Listen series, and the Gairden Chronicles series of fantasy novels for young adults. Outside of writing, he enjoys playing Mario, Zelda, and Dark Souls games, and will be happy to discuss at length the myriad reasons why Dark Souls 2 is the best in the series. Follow him online at davidlcraddock.com and @davidlcraddock.