Twitch Buys IGDB

IGDB, or the Internet Game Database, has been around for a while now, and its mission has always been an admirable one: start doing what game publishers and developers don’t seem to care about and start collecting and archiving games. How successful this mission has been is debatable, and they’ve gotten caught up in other goals since then (for example, reviews), but they’re still one of the more reliable databases for games that you can find on the net if you’re looking for everything you can possibly learn from a game outside checking out it’s wiki.

And now, it’s going to be teaming up with Twitch for reasons… I honestly don’t quite understand.

IGDB has joined the Twitch family! Millions of people visit Twitch every day to connect with their favorite 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.

Our mission has always been to build the most comprehensive gaming database in the world. 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.

I’m not saying it’s a bad decision: Twitch is certainly big and I’m sure IGDB can use that cash infusion. I’m more curious what Twitch gets out of the deal. Maybe more data for their streamers and their market researchers? Maybe new UIs for people to employ? Who can say?

Either way, I’m sure we’ll find out before too long.