Twitch Now Owns The IMDB Of Video Games

Even if you rarely peruse the Internet Movie Database (IMDB), you surely know about it thanks to its usefulness when finding basic information about almost any movie in existence. The video games counterpart of the IMDB is the Internet Game Database (IGDB).

Recently, the IGDB was acquired by streaming service Twitch. IGDB owner Jerome Richer De Forges wrote that joining Twitch will allow them to move forward in further developing their website into a version that fits their vision.

“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.”

– Jerome Richer De Forges, creator of IGDB.

The website’s API which is used to gather and analyse data surrounding video game releases and ratings will largely remain the same. The great new change is that IGDB is merging their premium and free tiers into one single new free tier.

Up to this point, Twitch’s game directory has been based on Giant Bomb (via PC Gamer). It explains why a lot of streamers who choose to play lesser-known indie titles are often put under the bus. Hopefully, that changes with this.

Read Jerome’s full Medium announcement here.