Discord Wants to Take on Steam by Selling Games

Discord Wants to Take on Steam by Selling Games
Highlights
  • The Discord Store is currently in beta
  • Those in Discord Nitro get access to free games
  • There will be timed exclusive PC games labelled 'First on Discord' too
Advertisement

With over 150 million users, popular gaming chat app Discord has its sights set on Steam with the Discord Store. Currently in beta for around 50,000 of its Canadian players, it will be expanding to more markets over time. According to the company, these players will see an upgraded version of the premium Discord experience known as Discord Nitro which would now include select games in addition to existing subscription perks. The new Discord Store tab will also be a part of this update, allowing them to purchase individual games.

Considering the abundance of PC games and just as many storefronts, Discord aims to differentiate itself with a highly selective inventory and an emphasis on curation.

"You ever been in one of those smaller boutique book shops with recommendations from employees written on little note cards? We love that hands-on personal approach to sharing great content with others. We think this kind of cozy neighborhood book shop vibe would be great for games. It reduces clutter and makes it easier to find what you want.

 

Alongside the upgraded Nitro, we’ll be launching a curated game store experience similar to one of those cozy neighborhood book shops with recommendations about the hottest and newest games from us to you," reads a post on the company's site.

That said, the reason for this move, has been to ensure another source of revenue without resorting to ads.

"We’ve actually been mulling the idea for a long time," Discord Chief Marketing Officer Eros Resmini, told Variety. "We wanted to build an amazing platform that people wanted to use every day and we wanted to grow that platform before focusing too much on monetisation. We now have 150 million users, so timing felt right. We knew we didn’t want to sell ads or user data, so we had two options left: cosmetics or content. Nitro was our attempt at cosmetics, now we’re adding games to that subscription and building a retail store too."

Resmini said games will be selected by a curation team powered by the more than 100 people who work at Discord.

Furthermore, there will be a range of games branded as 'First on Discord'. These would be indie games that the firm "helped bring to life" and will be exclusive for usually 90 days before being available on other platforms. Here's the list of games that would be free to Discord Nitro subscribers as well as a list of games available on the Discord Store at launch.

Discord Nitro free games

  • Saints Row: The Third
  • Metro: Last Light Redux
  • Darksiders: Warmastered Edition 
  • De Blob
  • Tormentor X Punisher
  • Dandara
  • Kathy Rain
  • GoNNER
  • Kingdom: New Lands
  • System Shock Enhanced Edition
  • Super Meat Boy

Discord Store games list

  • Dead Cells
  • Frostpunk
  • Omensight
  • Into the Breach
  • SpellForce 3
  • The Banner Saga 3
  • Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire
  • Hollow Knight
  • Moonlighter
  • This is the Police 2
  • Starbound

It will be interesting to see how Discord's endeavours work out. Bigger PC game publishers like EA,  Activision, and Bethesda have already moved towards making their IP exclusive to their platforms what with the likes of FIFA 19, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, and Fallout 76 skipping Steam. Unless its able to show value to mid-tier and indie PC developers, it may just be another store in a sea full of them.


If you're a fan of video games, check out Transition, Gadgets 360's gaming podcast. You can listen to it via Apple Podcasts or RSS, or just listen to this week's episode by hitting the play button below.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Further reading: Discord, Steam, Discord Store
Samsung Galaxy Note 9 With 6.4-Inch Display, 4,000mAh Battery Announced: Price, Specifications, and More
Red Dead Redemption 2 Gameplay Trailer Shows Off Guns, Your Gang, and More
Share on Facebook Gadgets360 Twitter Share Tweet Snapchat Share Reddit Comment google-newsGoogle News
 
 

Advertisement

Follow Us

Advertisement

© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2024. All rights reserved.
Trending Products »
Latest Tech News »