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October 10, 2023
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7 mins
What started as a simple chat feature in a video game turned into a platform that changed the way people could communicate over the internet. This is the story of the visionary behind Discord. With more than 100 million users monthly, Discord is more than a communication platform - it is a hub where millions of communities exist. While originally for gamers, Discord has become a platform for all types of communities, from gardening to race car driving. It’s changing how communities exist and socialize on the internet.
Jason Citron was born in San Francisco in 1987 into a business-oriented family. At the age of 5, Jason started playing with the Nintendo DES which sparked his love for video games at an early age. He even started learning how to code because he wanted to create his own games. With the encouragement of his father, Jason became proficient in coding and by the time he was 13, he had created his own video game using the programming language QBasic. By 16, Jason was writing code for a couple of companies as a freelancer.
However, Jason’s love for video games became more of an obsession by the time he got to college. He was studying game design at Full Sail University but would play World of Warcraft so much that he almost didn’t finish college. Thankfully, he was able to graduate and began working for video game studios. He loved building things he knew other gamers would enjoy which is why he enjoyed helping create games at studios. Throughout his early career, he would go on to work on several projects from console software to mobile games. He even launched a mobile puzzle game called Aurora Feint on the first day of the Apple Appstore back in 2008. Unfortunately, Aurora Feint was unable to generate enough revenue to stay afloat and he thus shifted it to a type of social network for gamers called OpenFeint. Two years after its development, the Japanese gaming company, GREE, bought OpenFeint for $104 million.
After OpenFeint was sold, Jason started another company called Hammer & Chisel in 2012 with the purpose of building games focused more on tablets and multiplayer games. In 2014 they built a game called Fates Forever which was a multiplayer game with built-in voice and text chat in the game. The game ultimately failed and was shut down in 2015 but in a classic startup move, Jason and his team saw how effective their chat feature was and pivoted their company. This was during the time when gamers would only have the two options of Skype and TeamSpeak if they wanted to talk to their friends online while playing, despite both being hated. Hammer & Chisel transition into focusing on communication wasn’t easy and had to shut down its game development team while also laying off a third of the company. They also took up the name “Discord” because it sounded cool and was related to the idea of chatting.
When Jason fully committed to Discord, there were only 10 users and its future was not looking promising. Discord’s core components made it different from other existing platforms such as the ability to create servers to facilitate free-flowing conversation amongst a community. Despite its improvements, users weren’t switching over from other lower-quality communication platforms like Skype and Jason couldn’t figure out why. After Jason started conducting interviews and seeing the data from the users who have tried Discord, he realized that although Discord was better than Skype, it wasn’t good enough to the point where people would make the switch completely. Discord had its own share of problems such as calls failing and the quality not being consistent. So Jason decided to take the time to make sure to fix and innovate Discord further. Over the next few months, Jason and his team rebuilt the voice technology 3 times and also implemented new features that would let users manage their servers better with the addition of bans, roles, and permissions.
Discord uses May 13, 2015, as its official launch day as it was the day that strangers finally started using the service. What happened was that someone posted in the Final Fantasy XIV subreddit with a Discord link to their server in order to talk about new updates. Jason immediately started engaging with the people who joined the server and the word spread about Discord. A few hundred people joined Discord that day and it snowballed from there. People loved the features that Discord offered that made it feel casual and easy to talk. Chatting on Discord didn’t require setting up a voice call and then inviting everyone to a group chat. Dedicated voice chats simply existed on these servers where anyone could join and start talking. It was this aspect of servers that made Discord so unique and powerful. Jason’s co-founder, Vishnevskiy described the experience as “like a house where you can move between rooms”. Jason’s take on describing Discord was that “It created a place on your computer and on your phone, where it felt like your friends were just around, and you could run into them and talk to them and hang out with them." In addition, Discord doesn’t run ads or charge money to use in order to make money. Instead, Discord generates its revenue from optional paid subscriptions that offer a wider variety of emojis, better call quality, and extra server privileges. By the end of 2016, Discord generated $5 million in revenue.
As more multiplayer games such as Fortnite and Rocket League became big, Discord’s user base also grew exponentially. This was shown with messages being exchanged on Discord growing from 6 billion in 2017 to 15 billion in 2018. As Discord grew larger, Jason realized that around 30% of the servers weren’t about gaming. Discord began to run focus groups and studies trying to understand why people use Discord, and one question asked was “What’s the biggest misconception about Discord?”. The most common answer by far was “It’s for gamers.” Jason had realized that Discord was no longer for gamers, but for anyone who wanted to form or join their own community that related to their interest. People used Discord for all sorts of things from forming study groups to giving out sneaker reselling information.
Once Discord realized this, it began to shift its marketing strategy from a game-centered approach to a general chat-based platform. Their rebrand included changing their slogan and redesigning their features. In the middle of this rebrand, COVID happened in 2020. With everyone trapped indoors and lacking the ability to contact their friends in the real world, Discord’s users increased by 47% from February to July. During quarantine, Discord had become a place for millions of people to simply hang out and chat with friends. Discord’s new slogan became “Your place to talk”. Discord’s target audience and user base had officially shifted from gamers to everyone. By the end of 2020, they had 300 million users and were generating $130 million in revenue.
Discord’s funding rounds have been another key aspect in its progression. Discord received its first investment from WarnerMedia which invested $20 million in 2016. From there, Index Ventures invested a further $50 million in 2017 to become a unicorn valued at $1.65 billion. By 2018, the company secured $150 million from Greenoaks Capital pushing its valuation to $2.05 billion. As of today, Discord has been valued at $15 billion from its last major investment of $500 million in late 2021. With such a hefty valuation, there's been growing buzz about a potential IPO for Discord, making it one of the most eagerly anticipated possible IPOs of 2023.
Despite the many benefits and the engaging community atmosphere that Discord is able to provide, it has faced a variety of challenges and controversies. Discord has grappled with issues of cyberbullying, hostile behavior within chats, and even server “raids” which is when large communities take over smaller servers and flood the chat with inappropriate content. While Discord’s Trust and Safety department has been responsible for managing user reports, assessing their effectiveness has been challenging due to the private nature of Discord communities. In 2018, The Daily Beast uncovered Discord servers distributing revenge porn and facilitating real-world harassment, which led to Discord shutting down these servers and banning users involved. Discord has also been used by extremist groups, including those involved with the violent Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017. In response, Discord has been actively closing these servers and banning participants, while condemning white supremacy and other hateful groups. Yet, in all of these instances, Discord has responded with clear action and has shown a strong commitment to making the platform safer.
Nowadays, Discord has 150 million active users every month with 78% of them using Discord for non-gaming related activities and has collected a revenue of $208 million in 2022. What started off as Jason Citron’s commitment and passion for gaming and its community has blossomed into Discord becoming a revolutionary hub for digital communication. The future looks promising as Discord continues to reshape the way we communicate online, with more and more people using it to find communities and talk to friends online.
What began as a video game driven by Jason’s love for gaming and its community has blossomed into the incredible story of Discord, the platform revolutionizing digital communication. With 150 million active users each month, 78% of which use Discord for non-gaming related activities, it has already made a significant impact on the landscape of internet conversation. However, the journey was not without its challenges with issues of harassment and hate speech existing in some Discord servers. Despite this, Citron’s dedication to creating a safe and inclusive environment has allowed Discord to continue to grow and collect a revenue of $208 million in 2022 alone. Moving forward, Discord is set to continue redefining digital interactions in exciting ways.
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