Logitech Acquires Streamlabs In Bid To Conquer Booming Gamer Livestreaming Market
Logitech is trying to become a major force in the broadcast and livestreaming space. It took another step in that direction today by announcing it has agreed to acquired Streamlabs for $89 million in cash, and potentially another $29 million in Logitech stock (subject to the achievement of significant revenue growth targets for Streamlabs).
Streamlabs makes the popular Streamlabs OBS, which according to the company has been used to stream 161 million hours of content since January 2018. There are currently 1.6 million people who use Streamlabs OBS, and if the company's figures are accurate, 70 percent of Twitch is streamed with its software.
"We’ve been fans of Streamlabs and their software since we started partnering with them over two years ago. Their industry-leading software is complementary to our existing gaming portfolio, and we believe we can do even greater things together," said Ujesh Desai, general manager and vice president of Logitech G.
For Streamlabs, this acquisition opens up a whole new pool of resources and marketing expertise for it to tap into. Streamlabs insists that nothing will change for streamers, in terms of continuing to support multiple platforms, and perhaps most importantly, keeping its tools free and open. The hope is that it can now reach more gamers.
"Streamlabs and Logitech both share a strong passion for gaming and a dedication to serving the global community of gamers and streamers. Joining with Logitech allows us to keep doing what we love and be bolder than ever on a much bigger stage," said Ali Moiz, chief executive officer of Streamlabs.
For Logitech, this is yet another building block towards having an all-encompassing ecosystem for gamers to livestream their content. Logitech already offers (and continues to develop) a wide range of gaming peripherals, such as keyboards, mice, and headsets, and last year it acquired Blue Microphones for $117 million.
It's a solid strategy for Logitech—content streaming is hot, and will only get bigger with the esports scene having exploded in the past year or so.
