Discord is up for sale!! After an embarrassing venture with Mixer, will Microsoft buy Discord (with a readymade userbase?)
Discord is on the block and Microsoft seems to be the frontrunner to buy the chatting app for nearly $10 billion as per a Bloomberg report.
Discord has been one of the essential softwares for gamers and gaming communities worldwide. The company is exploring a sale and has been in talks with multiple suitors. Reports indicate the media company has held talks with Amazon and Epic Games. But Microsoft is possibly in advanced talks to acquire Discord for $10 billion as per reports.
Will Discord sell to Microsoft?
Discord is still in open discussions about its future. Despite featuring a massive userbase of 140 million monthly users, the company is not profitable. Currently, the company is exploring two options. It could go for an outright sale to big-name organizations such as Amazon, Epic Games, Microsoft and others. Alternatively, Discord could go public, which would help it in raising essential capital while maintaining its independence and vision.
“It’s hard to tell the difference between a serious acquisition attempt and a fishing expedition,” said one source to Venturebeat, who asked not to be identified. “It can fall apart at any time. The reality is the company is doing really well. I don’t see a reason they would want to sell. They seem to be completely in control of their destiny right now.”
Discord serves a critical role in the gaming industry, connecting game publishers with their communities. The voice, video and text chatting application has seen rapid growth since launch and is often the go-to voice-chat for casual as well as professional players.
Strong growth but poor monetization efforts
As with most other tech applications, Discord and gaming grew manifold during the coronavirus pandemic. Users were playing more games and being more active within their individual communities. Over the years, Discord has evolved from a chatting application to a social app where users share information on a myriad of topics.
Despite the rapid growth, Discord’s monetization efforts have not been overly successful. The application provides a few subscription services that give benefits to the users and servers. However, the majority of its users still use the free app.