No changes at Twitch following Amazon acquisition

There won’t be any sweeping changes to either Twitch’s direction or staff following its buyout at the hands of Amazon.

A $970m buyout was confirmed on Monday.

We chose Amazon because they believe in our community, they share our values and long-term vision, and they want to help us get there faster,” CEO Emmett Shear said in an open letter to Twitch users.

We’re keeping most everything the same: our office, our employees, our brand, and most importantly our independence. But with Amazon’s support we’ll have the resources to bring you an even better Twitch.

It’s almost unbelievable that slightly more than 3 years ago, Twitch didn’t exist. Together with you, we’ve found new ways of connecting developers and publishers with their fans. We’ve created a whole new kind of career that lets people make a living sharing their love of games. We’ve brought billions of hours of entertainment, laughter, joy and the occasional ragequit. I think we can all call that a pretty good start.”

It was reported yesterday that Google pulled out of its proposed buyout due to competition commission concerns.