Twitch acquires IGDB to improve discoverability

Twitch has purchased IGDB, the Internet Games Database, a website that combines the information about games into a comprehensive resource similar to Amazon’s IMDb.

IGDB’s database will now be integrated with Twitch’s search. This should improve the platform’s discovery features.

IGDB relies on algorithms and community contributors to pull information on all games including its genre, platforms supported, description, member and critic ratings and reviews, storyline, game modes, publisher, release dates, characters, etc.

“We want every place on Twitch to help you get discovered. Today, nearly one in three people who come to Twitch use Search to find what they’re looking for. Now, I’ll be the first to admit that our search function hasn’t always been the best experience. One wrong letter and your search results may come back empty, or direct you to a very different streamer than the one you were looking for. So we’re going to fix search so it actually works.”

Twitch CEO Emmett Shear

Following the acquisition, IGDB site will remain online and continue towards becoming the most comprehensive database on games, TechCrunch reports.

The price of the deal was not disclosed, but it’s probably comparatively low since IGDB is only a 10-person team and has only raised $1.5 million to date, according Crunchbase.