Tag: Jason Citron

Discord Exploring Sale for $10 Billion

Discord is exploring a possible sale for $10 billion, as gaming and communication take on greater importance.

Discord made its name as a service that allowed gamers to communicate with each. The service is especially popular among players of multiplayer games, as it provides a way for large groups of people to communicate effectively.

Most recently, Discord began to pivot to chat as digital platforms became key to companies and individuals remaining connected and productive during the pandemic. That growth has helped propel Discord to new heights, and the company is looking to cash in with a possible sale, according to GamesBeat.

“I know they are in active discussions with a select few parties,” one source said. “The market is in a state where they could command strong double-digit billions of dollars.”

Much of Discord’s demand stems from the increased popularity of gaming during the pandemic. As individuals have remained in lockdown, gaming has become an even more popular pastime, with social gaming serving as an important way for people to maintain social connections.

The ultimate decision will rest with Discord CEO Jason Citron, although a $10 billion sale is a powerful motivator.

March 22, 2021
Discord Pivots to Chat, Downplays Gaming

Discord is working on repositioning itself as a chat platform, rather than a gaming messaging platform.

As millions of people have been sheltering in place, working from home and relying on communication tools to keep in touch, chat and video conferencing apps have become all the rage. While Discord started out as a messaging platform for gamers, it would appear it is growing far beyond that and moving into the general communication space.

In a blog post, CEO Jason Citron said the company has spent the last year finding out what mattered most to its users. Based on that information, it quickly became apparent that many individuals were using Discord to be part of an online community, engage in meaningful conversation and have a place to belong.

“You came to us and said Discord was this place. And for millions of you, it already felt like a home,” writes Citron.

“Today, many of you use Discord for day-to-day communication. You’re sharing thoughts about books, music, and art, creating servers to just be yourself and share moments with friends. Since we launched in 2015, Discord has grown to more than 100 million monthly active users. You spend 4 billion minutes in conversation daily across 6.7 million active servers. On a weekly basis, that’s 26 billion server conversation minutes across 13.5 million active servers.”

Citron then goes on to highlight the changes Discord is making to keep up with the way people are using it. These changes include improving the branding to focus on chat, making Discord “hostile to hate” and improving the onboarding experience.

It’s a safe bet that Discord will probably continue to grow and benefit from this move, especially as digital communication is more important than ever.

June 30, 2020
Coronavirus: Discord Ups Go Live Limit to 50 People

Discord announced it is temporarily increasing the number of people who can view a live stream to 50 as a result of the coronavirus.

Discord originally began as a platform for gamers to be able to communicate. The platform is especially popular with games that involve massive numbers of players, such as Eve Online, as it gives gamers the ability to better coordinate with each other. Since its launch, however, Discord has grown beyond gaming and is now used for a variety of purposes.

As the coronavirus pandemic sweeps the globe, more and more people are working from home, taking virtual classes and remotely tackling tasks that would normally be done in person. This unprecedented need is what prompted the folks at Discord to take the step they did.

“We wanted to find a way to help, so we’re temporarily upping the limit on Go Live to 50 people at a time, up from 10,” writes Jason Citron, Founder/CEO. “Go Live is free to use and lets people privately stream or screen share apps from a computer while others watch on any device — so teachers can conduct a class, co-workers can collaborate, and groups can still meet. You can learn more about how to get started with Go Live here.

“While we created Discord to bring people together around games, we’re thrilled that so many of you are using it in so many different ways. We’ll maintain the higher user limit as long as it’s critically needed — we hope it makes peoples’ lives just a little easier and a little less stressful day-to-day.”

March 13, 2020
How OpenFeint Hopes to Change the Mobile Gaming Industry

The popularity of social gaming platforms, especially on mobile devices, has contributed largely to the gaming industry’s recent explosion. It’s clear that many consumers are obsessed with games such as Farmville, Mafia Wars, and Angry Birds, but even with this growth, one can’t help but wonder if these games will stick around for the long-term.

According to Jason Citron, the CEO of mobile social gaming network OpenFeint, the games may not last forever, but the impact of them will influence the future of gaming.

“Farmville and Angry Birds – they’ll probably be fads. Most things are, but I think that the type of games they are represent, for the first time ever, games really becoming a true mass market media,” he said.

In what ways do you think games like Farmville and Angry Birds are influencing the gaming industry? Let us know.

Citron recognizes this impact and hopes to capitalize on it through OpenFeint. His company recently sold to GREE, a Japanese mobile social gaming platform, for $104 million. He told us that the acquisition would help the platform expand into new markets around the world.

OpenFeint is also working to allow all gamers to play against each other regardless of what platform they are using. The company partnered with SEGA recently in an effort to advance cross platform connectivity. In other words, both iPhone gamers and Android gamers can play against each other.

“It’s really the first time on a major platform that people have had the ability to play against their friends no matter what platform they’re on,” said Citron.

Traditionally, gaming has been very closed, but Citron is hoping to change it by integrating a Facebook approach. The company launched GameFeed recently, which is a cross platform newsfeed feature that allows users to communicate with their friends in real-time.

Citron told us that they want to bring “simplicity to gaming on mobile devices” and that they believe their open, social model is a step in making it happen.

June 23, 2011