Discord Inc.

Discord

File:Discord logo 2021.svg Logo since 2021 rebranding
Company type	Private
Industry	Instant messaging, VoIP
Founded	2012 (2012)
Founder	Jason Citron, Stanislav Vishnevskiy
Headquarters	Not specified , Not specified
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Humam Sakhnini (CEO as of April 2025), Jason Citron (Founder, former CEO)
Products	Voice calls, video chats, text conversations, media exchanges, servers, Nitro subscription
Number of employees	600 (2022)
Website	discord.com

Discord is a social platform for instant messaging and VoIP communication, facilitating voice calls, video chats, text conversations, and media exchanges. Users engage through private channels or join virtual communities known as "servers," which host ongoing chat rooms and voice channels accessible via invitation links. Discord supports multiple operating systems, including Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, iPadOS, Linux, as well as web browsers.

By 2024, Discord boasts around 150 million active users monthly and maintains 19 million servers active weekly. Originally favored by the gamer community, its audience has grown to encompass a wide range of interest groups. Globally, it ranks as the 30th most frequented website, with nearly 23% of its traffic coming from the United States. As of March 2022, the company employed approximately 600 people worldwide, demonstrating its expanding global footprint and influence.

History

The concept of Discord originated with Jason Citron, who previously founded the mobile social gaming service OpenFeint, and Stanislav Vishnevskiy, creator of Guildwork. After selling OpenFeint to GREE in 2011 for $104 million, Citron used the funds to establish Hammer & Chisel in 2012, a game development company. Their initial release was Fates Forever (2014), a mobile MOBA title that did not achieve commercial success.

While developing games, Citron recognized difficulties in coordinating multiplayer strategies using existing VoIP solutions. This realization inspired him to develop Discord—a streamlined voice and text communication tool tailored for gamers. The name "Discord" was chosen for its straightforwardness and relevance to resolving communication issues within gaming.

Hammer & Chisel secured investments from YouWeb's incubator, Benchmark Capital, and Tencent to build Discord. The platform became publicly available in May 2015 at discordapp.com. Without focusing on a particular demographic initially, Discord rapidly gained popularity among gaming enthusiasts, esports participants, and Twitch broadcasters, propelled by organic growth on Reddit and gaming communities.

In January 2016, Discord secured $20 million in funding with contributions from WarnerMedia (later under AT&T). Microsoft incorporated Discord functionality into Xbox Live in 2018 to improve cross-platform interaction. By December 2018, Discord raised $150 million at a valuation of $2 billion in a round led by Greenoaks Capital.

Around mid-2020, Discord transitioned its business model from solely gaming communications to a versatile chat service under the motto "Your place to talk," supported by a $100 million investment round. This strategic shift aimed at broadening its market reach while enhancing user onboarding and server stability.

In March 2021, Tomasz Marcinkowski joined as Discord’s first CFO from Pinterest, marking steps toward an anticipated IPO. That year saw monthly users double to roughly 140 million. Despite acquisition interest from major technology companies such as Microsoft, Discord opted to remain independent, instead raising additional funds with investments from Sony Interactive Entertainment for planned PlayStation integration.

The company revamped its logo and branding in 2021 to project a stronger identity but encountered some user resistance over these changes. It acquired Sentropy to boost moderation tools and reported $130 million in revenue for 2020 with a valuation reaching $15 billion by late 2021. This expansion was largely driven by growth beyond gaming circles and increased engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Following legal disputes concerning music bots in 2021, Discord partnered with YouTube to introduce the "Watch Together" feature. Plans for Web3 integration were ultimately abandoned following negative community feedback.

In November 2022, France’s CNIL fined Discord €800,000 due to breaches of GDPR privacy regulations. Early in 2023, the platform gained attention for being used to disseminate classified U.S. documents related to the Russo-Ukrainian conflict.

After rapid workforce expansion between 2020 and 2024, Discord reduced staff by 4% in August 2023 and an additional 17% in January 2024. In December 2023, it launched a mobile app update including dark mode and voice messaging capabilities.

On April Fools' Day 2024, Discord unintentionally set a new record for the highest number of YouTube views within 24 hours due to an app glitch; however, these views were subsequently removed.

In April 2025, Jason Citron stepped down as CEO to join the board of directors. Humam Sakhnini, formerly with Activision Blizzard, was appointed CEO as part of strategic leadership changes positioning Discord toward an eventual public offering.

Features

Discord is designed to facilitate community management through various communication tools, including voice and video calls, persistent chat rooms, and integrations tailored for gamers. It supports private messaging and the creation of personalized groups.

Servers

Discord organizes its communities into groups of channels called servers, or "guilds" in developer terminology. Users can establish servers without cost, control their public accessibility, and arrange voice channels, text channels, and categories. Most servers have a membership cap of 250,000 users, which can be increased by reaching out to Discord. Server administrators assign roles to members to regulate access to channels, assign user color codes, and oversee moderation duties. The largest official server recorded was Snowsgiving 2021, boasting 1 million participants. By 2023, the Midjourney server surpassed this with over 15 million members, becoming the platform’s biggest community.

Since October 2017, game developers and publishers have had the ability to verify their servers with badges that signify official status. These verified communities are managed by the respective developers’ teams. In February 2018, the verification program expanded to include esports organizations and musical artists. By the end of 2017, approximately 450 servers had achieved verified status. As of September 2024, Discord has temporarily halted its verification program for maintenance and has not yet resumed it.

Channel types

Discord channels provide support for voice communication, live streaming, instant messaging, and file transfers.

In May 2021, Stage Channels were launched—these are moderated live audio rooms reminiscent of Clubhouse that offer controlled entry for invited or ticketed participants. However, the Stage Discovery feature that allowed users to browse open channels was discontinued in October 2021.

Threads were introduced in August 2021 as temporary text channels that automatically delete after use, aimed at improving communication within servers.

Forum Channels made their debut in September 2022, delivering a Reddit-style format for extended discussions centered around specific topics.

In June 2023, Media Channels were added to focus exclusively on sharing videos and images.

User profiles

To join Discord, users register with an email address and select a username. Prior to mid-2023, usernames included a four-digit "discriminator" tag to enable duplicate names; Nitro subscribers could customize this tag. In May 2023, Discord transitioned to a handle-based system that eliminated discriminators and required users to choose new usernames determined by their registration date, Nitro subscription status, and server ownership. This update sparked concerns about potential impersonation risks if former usernames were claimed by others.

In June 2021, profile customization was enhanced by adding an about me section along with customizable colored banners. Nitro members gained the ability to upload either static or animated banner images.

Video calls and streaming

The introduction of video calling and screen sharing in October 2017 allowed private video conversations with up to 10 participants; this limit was later expanded to 50 during the COVID-19 pandemic due to increased usage.

In August 2019, Discord unveiled live streaming channels within servers where users could broadcast their entire screen or specific applications. Although these features resemble those found on platforms like Twitch, they are intended for smaller groups rather than competing directly with major livestreaming services.

Digital distribution

In August 2018, Discord introduced a beta version of its games marketplace, featuring a handpicked assortment of titles. This included exclusive releases under the "First on Discord" program, which granted developers a 90-day period of marketplace exclusivity. Subscribers to the Discord Nitro plan, whose price increased from $4.99 to $9.99 per month, gained access to a rotating selection of games. A more affordable tier called 'Nitro Classic' offered similar benefits but did not include complimentary games.

In response to competition from the Epic Games Store, which takes a 12% share of revenue, Discord lowered its own revenue cut to 10% in December 2018.

Starting in March 2019, developers who managed their own servers were able to sell games directly through specialized store channels, with Discord managing payment processing and distribution. This setup enabled early access and alpha/beta testing through direct sales.

Nevertheless, by March 2019, Discord decided to shut down its digital storefront to concentrate on Nitro subscriptions and developer-driven direct sales. By September 2019, the company also discontinued its free game offerings due to limited user participation.

Developer tools and bots

Discord launched its GameBridge API in December 2016, allowing game creators to embed Discord functionality directly within their titles.

One year later, the platform released a software development kit (SDK) known as "rich presence," which enables developers to integrate features such as joining friends' games or displaying player achievements on profiles.

Community-developed bots automate various functions including moderation and mini-games; as of 2021, around 430,000 bots were active across nearly 30% of servers. Discord provides official bot APIs that support custom components like dropdown menus and buttons. In early 2022, the company introduced an official app directory to simplify bot installation within the platform. The Verge recognized bots as a fundamental element of Discord’s ecosystem.

In March 2025, Discord launched a Social SDK aimed at embedding its social capabilities into games, improving communication between users inside and outside of Discord during gameplay.

Unofficial extensions

Despite Discord’s prohibition on client modifications, numerous unofficial extensions exist. One popular example is BetterDiscord, an open-source desktop modification that supports plugins enhancing or adding features not available in the standard client. These include free custom themes and the ability to increase the number of participants in voice calls. While generally well-regarded by users, BetterDiscord has been reported to occasionally cause crashes and bugs. Its creators advise that users avoid disciplinary action by refraining from violating Discord's terms of service with further unauthorized changes.

Infrastructure

Discord functions as a persistent group chat service built upon an eventually consistent database design. Initially relying on MongoDB, its backend transitioned to Apache Cassandra after reaching one billion messages and later moved to ScyllaDB upon hitting one trillion messages.

The desktop, web, and iOS applications are developed using React and React Native frameworks; meanwhile, the Android app shares much of its codebase with iOS after originally being built natively. The desktop client is constructed using Electron technology, enabling multi-platform deployment as an installed application.

To ensure low latency for users worldwide, Discord utilizes Google Cloud Platform infrastructure spanning over 30 data centers across 13 regions. In July 2020, Krisp-powered noise suppression was integrated into the mobile app.

The backend architecture primarily employs Elixir and Python languages, supplemented by Rust, Go, and C++, reflecting a carefully chosen technology stack designed for scalability and high performance in supporting Discord’s global operations.

Monetization

Although Discord's application is offered at no cost, the company has implemented various revenue-generating methods, such as paid personalization options including custom emojis and stickers.

The platform introduced its initial subscription service, originally named "Discord Nitro," in January 2017, priced at $4.99 per month. This plan, later called "Discord Nitro Classic," provided subscribers with advantages like animated avatars, the ability to use personalized and animated emojis across multiple servers, increased file upload capacity (from 8 MB up to 50 MB), higher-definition screen sharing, customizable discriminator numbers (ranging from #0001 to #9999), and exclusive profile badges.

In October 2018, the original "Discord Nitro" was renamed "Discord Nitro Classic" when a new $9.99 tier called "Discord Nitro" was launched. This premium subscription included access to complimentary browser games through the Discord game store. Users of Nitro Classic were temporarily upgraded to the new Nitro tier. However, Discord discontinued its free game offerings by October 2019.

June 2019 marked the debut of Server Boosts—subscriptions priced at $4.99 monthly that unlock special features for particular servers, such as improved audio quality and animated server icons. Subscribers to Nitro benefit from a 30% discount on these boosts and receive two complimentary boosts every month.

Starting in October 2020, Discord piloted paid digital stickers in Canada with prices ranging from $1.50 to $2.25. Subscribers of Nitro were granted a complimentary "What's Up Wumpus" sticker pack. By May 2023, most stickers had become freely available, and prior purchases were reimbursed.

In October 2022, Discord introduced "Discord Nitro Basic" at $2.99 per month, replacing the previous Nitro Classic plan but offering fewer features compared to the $9.99 Nitro subscription.

October 2023 saw the launch of Avatar Decorations and Profile Themes for purchase within Discord’s Shop, allowing users to enhance their profiles with animated embellishments.

Moreover, Discord generates income by taking a 10% cut from game sales made through servers operated by verified developers, supplementing its subscription-based revenue streams.

Reception

By January 2016, Hammer & Chisel announced that Discord had amassed 3 million users, with growth accelerating by approximately 1 million new users monthly and reaching 11 million by July that year. By December 2016, the user base expanded globally to 25 million. At the close of 2017, Discord boasted nearly 90 million users and was gaining about 1.5 million weekly. On its third anniversary, Discord reported having registered over 130 million unique users. While gaming-related servers dominate the platform, some communities focus on non-gaming topics such as stock market trading and fantasy football leagues.

In May 2016, PC Gamer recognized Discord as the premier VoIP service available. Lifehacker commended its intuitive interface along with broad platform compatibility.

By 2021, Discord had surpassed 350 million registered accounts across web and mobile platforms and maintained 56 million monthly active users who exchanged approximately 25 billion messages every month. In June 2020, the company reported reaching 100 million monthly active users. As of recent data, Discord continues to support over 227 million monthly active users.

Cyberbullying and moderation

Discord has encountered challenges related to abusive conduct within its chat environments, including large-scale "raids," where groups inundate servers with offensive material touching on sensitive subjects such as race, religion, politics, and explicit content. In response to these issues in 2017, the company outlined plans aimed at mitigation. A dedicated Trust and Safety team handles user reports; however, since many communities are private by design, evaluating the effectiveness of these efforts remains difficult. Research published in New Media & Society criticized Discord for delegating server discovery functions to unmoderated third-party applications, which inadvertently allowed hateful groups to broaden their audience.

In January 2018, The Daily Beast revealed that certain Discord servers were being used for distributing revenge pornography and facilitating harassment offline—activities violating Discord’s terms of service. In reaction, the company took action by shutting down these servers and banning involved users.

Data privacy

In September 2024, the Federal Trade Commission published a report derived from feedback provided by nine companies, including Discord, concerning their data collection and usage practices under Section 6(b) of the Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914. The findings revealed significant weaknesses in how both user and non-user information were managed, exposing individuals to threats such as identity theft, stalking, illegal discrimination, mental health challenges, social stigmatization, and damage to reputation.

Use by extremist users and groups

Discord's emphasis on pseudonymity and privacy features made it a hub for various extremist factions, particularly the alt-right. Experts identified Discord as a key platform facilitating alt-right communication. In the aftermath of the August 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville—where figures like Richard B. Spencer and Andrew Anglin utilized Discord for organizing—the company responded by terminating alt-right servers and banning related accounts. Leadership publicly denounced white supremacist and neo-Nazi ideologies, collaborating with organizations such as the Southern Poverty Law Center to detect and expunge hateful groups.

The platform continued its efforts to disrupt extremist networks by shutting down servers affiliated with neo-Nazi terrorist entities including the Atomwaffen Division, Nordic Resistance Movement, among others. In 2019, reports surfaced revealing that white nationalist members within the U.S. Armed Forces used Discord servers for coordination purposes.

Following the January 2021 U.S. Capitol riot, Discord prohibited the "The Donald" server due to its links with incitement of violence and dissemination of election misinformation, despite no direct evidence connecting it to the attack. This server originated from the previously banned Reddit community r/The_Donald.

In 2022, investigations uncovered that Holocaust denial and neo-Nazi propaganda were widespread on Discord channels tied to German conspiracy websites. That same year, after a racially motivated mass shooting in Buffalo, New York, it was revealed that the perpetrator used a private Discord server to plan the attack. Discord swiftly removed the server and cooperated fully with an inquiry led by the New York state attorney general focusing on content moderation policies.

These measures demonstrate Discord’s continuous commitment to responsibly overseeing its platform while striving to balance user privacy with regulatory compliance and risk reduction across its international operations.

Child grooming and safety

Discord has encountered significant issues related to sexual exploitation of minors on its service. In July 2018, it amended its terms of service to prohibit drawn pornography depicting underage individuals. However, controversy emerged over the handling of "cub" content—pornographic furry art featuring underage characters—which was initially permitted if properly labeled. Due to community opposition, Discord updated its policies in February 2019 to ban such material involving non-humanoid animals and mythical beings, alongside pledging regular transparency reports.

In June 2023, NBC News reported 35 cases involving adults charged with kidnapping, grooming, or sexual assault linked to Discord, in addition to 165 prosecutions related to sharing child sexual abuse material on the platform.

A joint investigation released in March 2024 by The Washington Post, Wired, Der Spiegel, and Recorder exposed widespread child grooming, sexual abuse (including sextortion), and murder orchestrated by a network called 764 operating on Discord. This group had been active across Germany, the United States, and Romania since April 2021. Discord stated it had submitted hundreds of reports to law enforcement agencies and removed more than 34,000 accounts associated with this network.

Prohibitions

On January 27, 2021, during the GameStop short squeeze, Discord took action by removing the r/WallStreetBets server, citing reasons related to "hateful and discriminatory content," which led to significant user backlash. However, the following day, Discord permitted the establishment of a new server and began providing support for its moderation efforts.

Content Restrictions

In September 2024, the Russian regulatory authority Roskomnadzor announced plans to restrict access to Discord, demanding the deletion of 947 posts deemed illegal and levying a fine of 3.5 million roubles (approximately USD $37,493). By October 8, 2024, Russia had officially blocked the platform nationwide.

Soon after Russia’s ban, Turkey’s Ankara 1st Criminal Court of Peace also prohibited Discord, citing concerns over child exploitation and explicit material. This decision came in the wake of two women being murdered in Istanbul by a 19-year-old Discord user who allegedly received encouragement through the platform prior to his death.

Discord remains inaccessible in China due to restrictions imposed by the Great Firewall, where officials actively monitor and question users who engage in politically sensitive discussions.

In June 2025, in response to the Online Safety Act 2023, Discord implemented mandatory age verification for users in the United Kingdom and Australia. This process requires identity confirmation through facial recognition technology or government-issued identification to access content that is age-restricted or sensitive.

See also

• Comparison of VoIP software
• Comparison of cross-platform instant messaging clients
• List of freeware

Further reading

• Morris, Tee (May 19, 2020). Discord For Dummies. Wiley. .