Microsoft and ‘others’ made bids for Twitch prior to YouTube offer

Could Twitch have become an Xbox exclusive application?

In theory, yes, but one source says Microsoft's bid for the popular gaming live-streaming service was never a good "fit" for Twitch.

The news comes from an anonymous source close to the deal which saw YouTube buy Twitch for a reported $1 billion.

Speaking to The Verge, the source says that "Microsoft and others have made serious approaches to Twitch, but YouTube was deemed the better fit."

The article adds another source familiar with the deal who says that, "Twitch likely would have rejected a billion-dollar offer from other companies, but was willing to accept it as part of a partnership with YouTube."

Why not Microsoft, though? Well, Twitch has always been a service supportive of various gaming systems. Limiting the audience to just a selection of those systems would likely cut the Twitch userbase by a large margin, something that would not help Twitch in the long run.

Twitch and YouTube are reportedly still ironing out the details of the bid, including on-going negotiations as to how independent Twitch will remain.

What do you make of Microsoft's bid to buy Twitch? Good move by the company to reject the offer and turn to YouTube? Let us know in the comments below.

Source: [The Verge]