The social media messaging application Discord might have started as an app for gamers. However, through time, it has attracted users from all walks of life including fandom and other niche communities, even going as far as turning down a purchasing offer from the tech giant Microsoft which was reportedly worth $10 billion.
Discord CEO Jason Citron recently went on the Decoder podcast to answer some long-standing questions. In addition to shedding some more light on the company’s thought process for rejecting Microsoft’s offer, Citron also gave his prediction for the future of Discord, and more importantly the internet.
Discord CEO expands on turning down Microsoft’s offer
Discord was in talks to sell itself to potential suitors in 2021. Among those suitors was Microsoft, which The Wall Street Journal reported offered at least $10 billion to buy the messaging company. However, Discord turned down all offers as the gamer-focus chatting platform remained independent.
According to the Discord CEO, the decision to turn down Microsoft’s acquisition offer wasn’t anything noteworthy to them. Discord had received offers before and after the Microsoft one, and at the end of the day, it all boiled down to the Discord team wanting to grow the company. According to Citron, the team wishes to capitalize on opportunities to help Discord flourish.
The acquisition topic wasn’t the only time mention of Microsoft was brought up in the interview. Another thing the Discord CEO was asked was if Discord considered big game companies like Microsoft competitors. This was especially of note as the Discord platform has multiple games, making it a competitor in the gaming scene. Additionally, Discord’s subscription service Discord Nitro is technically a direct competitor to Microsoft’s Xbox Live.
However, Citron stated that communications tools are the platform’s focus. While they have a games team, it’s fairly small. The goal is to allow anyone to use Discord and opt into the developer preview to build an HTML5 game. That’s exactly what’s happening with several game developers actively using Discord’s services to aid them.
Is a smaller and private internet the future?
In a world where public social media profiles are the norm and countless users share their pictures and videos on apps like Instagram for millions to see, Citron believes that smaller and more intimate spaces are the future. An example of this is Instagram with its close friends feature.
Mainstream social media will continue to grow. However, the Discord representative believes the desire for smaller spaces will increase too. The small places can be Discord servers with some close friends or a group chat where only a handful of people communicate and share images. Through these spaces, people can spend quality time with loved ones without fear of judgment.