In a time when online platforms and social media were redirecting their efforts towards building mobile-first experiences, Discord represented the exception, launching as a browser app. Discord allows users to create their own communities, called "servers, with voice chat and video integration, or join dedicated thematic communities . The
is dedicated to the AI-powered text-to-image Midjourney and counted 20 million users as of April 2024.
What’s so special about Discord?
Discord launched in 2015, when social media giants Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter dominated the social landscape and attracted the largest shares of online audiences worldwide. As of January 2023, the
number of monthly active Discord users worldwide was estimated to have reached approximately 154 million.
Despite the competition, Discord was able to attract users thanks to its appeal within the gaming community. The platform provided an embedded voice and chat system that allowed gamers to interact while playing, giving them the possibility to abandon the game or browse the web without opting out of the conversation. As of April 2024,
the leading Discord gaming servers among users worldwide were the community for Roblox game Blox Fruit and the one for Chinese-developed Genshin Impact, with 1.75 and 1.61 million users, respectively.
How does Discord make money?
In 2017, the platform launched Discord Nitro, a premium subscription plan that allows users to access several perks, including high-quality video, custom emotes, and GIF avatars, starting at 4.99 U.S. dollars per month. In 2023, the
Discord platform generated 123.5 million U.S. dollars in revenues from its mobile app alone. While the company had previously declared that it would never add advertising to its platform, in April 2024, Discord added “Sponsored Quests,” a type of ad for gaming companies to promote their product to Discord’s core gamers' audience.
A bumpy road to the IPO
After rejecting a 12 billion U.S. dollar acquisition offer by Microsoft in April 2021, Discord has been reported to be
looking into entering the public market in the next years. The global IPO market experienced signs of recovery after slowing down in the years following the pandemic, but Discord might require longer than expected to enter the public market due to decreased valuation from its investors and slowing revenue growth.
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