Microsoft is reportedly weighing up a $10 billion acquisition deal for Discord, the popular voice and video chatting app synonymous with video gaming.
Early reports indicate that Discord is in talks with several major tech companies who would presumably jump at the chance to take on Discord's hundreds of millions of users and a platform that has cemented itself at the center of gaming culture.
Is Microsoft Making Moves on Discord?
According to Bloomberg, Discord has been talking to a range of potential suitors for a while. However, even with Microsoft's interest and the princely sum of $10 billion on the line, people familiar with the situation believe "no deal is imminent."
Furthermore, there's also the chance that Discord takes itself public, rather than selling out to one of the major tech companies.
Discord has continued its steady stream of growth in recent years, with the global pandemic pushing more people onto the platform. Its monthly active user numbers grew from 56 million in 2019 to 100 million in 2020, and it generated $130 million in revenue in 2020, a 188 percent increase from the previous year.
The potential deal is another huge marker for Microsoft, who are pushing their gaming credentials hard. Along with the extremely well-received new Xbox Series X console, Microsoft also recently splashed $7.5 billion to purchase ZeniMax Media, the owner of titles such as The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and Doom.
Then there was the attempted purchase of TikTok in 2020, along with recent reports that the company was in talks with Pinterest over a potential acquisition deal.
What's Next for Discord and Its Users?
Discord is an immensely popular service that has become the de facto chat app for most PC gamers and a fair amount of console gamers, too. But it isn't just the ability to voice chat while playing games that makes Discord a popular option.
The entire Discord package is an attractive proposition for community development. Anyone can start a free Discord server, send out invites, and start chatting. You can build out the server with numerous individual rooms, manage access to those rooms, and curate a unique community with ease.
Then there's free voice chatting for an unlimited number of users and free video chatting for up to 50 users at a time. Better still, the video and voice calling quality is impeccable, making it a great option for any community, not just gamers.
The big question for a Microsoft takeover of Discord is what happens to the existing users. Bloomberg Intelligence Analyst Matthew Kanterman believes, "There's a big opportunity to bundle Discord's premium offering, Nitro, into the Game Pass service to drive more subscriptions from the last reported 18 million."
It's hard to know what will happen, and the reports of a $10 billion acquisition are very early. Too early to say anything solid, at least.