Discord secures $150 million in funding, valued at over $2 billion

By Georgina Torbet Published December 23, 2018

Discord is hugely popular chat app for gamers, and the company is seeking to move into selling games as well. Back in October the company launched the Discord Store for games, meant to rival the massive Steam Store. And now Discord has announced that it has secured $150 million in funding, with a valuation of $2.05 billion.

The last time Discord raised cash was in April of this year, when they raised $50 million in funding at a $1.65 billion valuation. The company has only grown since then, as the influx of further cash and higher valuation demonstrate. The latest funding came primarily from investment group Greenoaks Capital, as well as from other funders like Firstmark, Tencent, IVP, Index Ventures, and Technology Opportunity Partners.

Recommended Videos

With this cash injection, Discord will expand the scope of their store. The store gained more attention recently when Discord announced that it would split revenue from game sales with the developers for self-published titles at a rate of 90/10, making it a more attractive option financially speaking than the 70/30 split offered by Steam. The Discord Store is definitely smaller in scope and audience than the behemoth Steam Store right now, but Discord is showing that it is looking to close that gap.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

The main focus of Discord will continue to be its chat service, which allows users to talk via text or voice and is a common tool used by clans, guilds, and other gaming groups. The chat service is offered for free for all users but has an option to purchase a “Nitro” subscription that gives benefits like unlimited access to a library of games and extra features in chat. At $10 per month, Nitro could be a compelling option for gamers who want to play through a lot of titles without having to shell out for each one. However, the catalogue of games available skews more towards indie and casual games, which may not be appealing to Discord’s primary audience of hardcore gamers.

The investment in the Discord Store opens up another avenue of funding for the company, and is a smart move to monetize the gaming audience that Discord has access to thanks to its popularity as a chat interface.

Topics

Georgina Torbet

Space Writer

Georgina has been the space writer at Digital Trends space writer for six years, covering human space exploration, planetary…

Gaming

3 games leaving Xbox Game Pass you should play this weekend (December 20-22)

A custom car built drives around Lego 2K Drive.

No more new games are coming to Xbox Game Pass for the rest of 2024. In fact, the service is going to lose some games at the end of the month. All of the games leaving the service on December 31 are very entertaining, and the lineup encompasses wacky racing games, hardcore strategy games about the history of humanity, and goofy fighting games where players control cute animals. These games are worth checking out this weekend as they're leaving Microsoft's gaming subscription service very soon.
Lego 2K Drive
LEGO 2K Drive | Awesome Reveal Trailer | Coming May 19

Racing games are some of the most approachable ones out there, so it makes sense that the genre would be a perfect fit for a Lego game. Visual Concepts and 2K went a step further than they had to with Lego 2K Drive, though, adding large open areas full of missions and minigames to experience. Lego 2K Drive is a light and breezy arcade-like racer that doesn't ask too much from players unless they want to spend a lot of time building vehicles piece by piece. After this game leaves the service at the end of the month, Forza Horizon 5 will be your only option when it comes to open-world racing games on Xbox Game Pass.

Gaming

3 new PS Plus games that you should play this weekend (December 20-22)

Frey in Square Enix's Forspoken.

The latest batch of new PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium game catalog additions was released this week. As a result, PS Plus subscribers have a ton of new options when it comes to what to play as we approach what is many people's holiday break. Games from this most recent batch are what I'm recommending people check out this weekend. One of the titles is technically a Christmas game, so it's fitting to play this time of year, while my other recommendations are good options if you're looking for something to play with others.
Forspoken
Forspoken - Official Launch Trailer

Square Enix's Forspoken is a high-profile action RPG console exclusive that was released on PlayStation 5 in 2023. While its quip-heavy dialogue definitely isn't for everyone, the way it incorporates the player's magical abilities into combat and traversal is truly exhilarating. Dashing through large fields, surfing on top of water, and launching bullet-like streams of rocks at enemies is immensely satisfying. Forspoken's Isekai adventure technically begins with the main character, Frey, being whisked away from New York City around Christmas. That technically makes this a Christmas game, giving you all the more reason to check it out this weekend.

Computing

We might get a new Steam Deck next month — and Valve isn’t making it

The Steam Deck OLED on a pink background.

I suspected to see some new handheld gaming PCs this year at CES, but it looks like something even more exciting is in store. AMD and Lenovo are hosting an event during the week of the show, and it'll have two special guests in attendance: Valve's Pierre-Loup Griffais and Microsoft's Jason Ronald.

I'll be attending the event on January 7, about which Sean Hollister over at The Verge initially shared out the details. There are a couple of reasons why this event could be significant. First, Valve. Since the launch of the Asus ROG Ally, there have been a handful of these types of events featuring spokespeople from AMD, Microsoft, and the company making a handheld -- Lenovo or Asus. Valve hasn't ever been in attendance, and considering Valve makes the Linux-based Steam Deck, it would be odd for the company to have a presence.