Discord partners with Sony — When to expect it on PS5

News
By
published

PlayStation wants to dabble in Discord

Discord
(Image credit: Discord)

Discord posted a year-over-year revenue increase of 189% in 2020. The group-chat platform amassed a whopping $130 million last year, according to Safe Betting Bites. It's no wonder Sony sees a lot of potential in Discord, an app gamers love using for in-game strategizing.

PlayStation announced on Tuesday that is partnering with Discord. Sony President and CEO Jim Ryan expressed he was inspired by Jason Citron and Stan Vishnevskiy's (Discord's co-founders) passion for cooperative gaming, which impelled PlayStation to pair up with Discord.

Discord and PlayStation partnership: what we know

Ryan announced that Sony has a minority stake in Discord after the chat platform held a Series H round of funding. Sony is crossing its fingers that it can successfully integrate Discord's vibrant gaming community into the PlayStation ecosystem. "Together, our teams are already hard at work connecting Discord with your social and gaming experience on PlayStation Network," Ryan said.

Discord attracts 140 million active monthly visitors; it experienced a boom in users in 2020 as gamers flocked to the group-chat app to play team-based video games such as Fortnite, League of Legends and Overwatch. 

Cultivating shared gaming experiences and propagating cooperative communities is part of PlayStation's mission. After all, streamlining multiplayer gaming propels PlayStation gamers to welcome newcomers into the ecosystem in an uncontrived manner, which means more money for Sony. Cha-ching!

This match-made-in-heaven partnership comes after Discord rejected a $12 billion bid from Microsoft, which is much more than the $7.5 billion it paid for Bethesda. According to Bloomberg, Discord reportedly turned down the deal to focus on an upcoming IPO listing in the near future.

When will Discord be integrated into PlayStation?

Discord will arrive in the PlayStation ecosystem by early 2022. Ryan revealed PlayStation users will be able to enjoy the new Discord integration via mobile and console gaming.

Sony will have more to share in the coming months, so keep an eye out for its channels and @Discord for more updates on the integration.

Kimberly Gedeon
Kimberly Gedeon

Kimberly Gedeon, holding a Master's degree in International Journalism, launched her career as a journalist for MadameNoire's business beat in 2013. She loved translating stuffy stories about the economy, personal finance and investing into digestible, easy-to-understand, entertaining stories for young women of color. During her time on the business beat, she discovered her passion for tech as she dove into articles about tech entrepreneurship, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and the latest tablets. After eight years of freelancing, dabbling in a myriad of beats, she's finally found a home at Laptop Mag that accepts her as the crypto-addicted, virtual reality-loving, investing-focused, tech-fascinated nerd she is. Woot!