Twitch is currently in the spotlight following reports that an anonymous hacker has leaked the entirety of the Amazon-owned streaming platform, including source code and user payout information.

The user allegedly posted a 125GB torrent link to 4chan on Wednesday (October 6), saying that their intention was to “foster more disruption and competition in the online video streaming space” as “their community is a disgusting toxic cesspool”.

For the uninitiated, here’s what you need to know about Twitch.

What is Twitch?

Founded in 2011 by Emmett Shear and Justin Kan, Twitch is a live video streaming platform and community for gamers that allows users to share, watch and comment on live game play. It also offers music broadcasts, creative content and “in real life” streams.

Twitch was originally a spin-off division of Justin.tv dedicated to gaming and took its name from the term twitch gameplay.

Due to Twitch’s rise in popularity, Justin.tv underwent a rebrand and changed its name officially to Twitch Interactive in 2014. Later that same year, Twitch Interactive was acquired by Amazon for $970million.

Twitch attracts on average more than 15 million daily active users, with over 3.8 million unique broadcasters in February 2020 alone.