New updates help games acquire players, increase engagement, and grow revenue
SAN FRANCISCO, March 9th, 2026 – Discord today announces a series of updates that support developers and publishers across the gaming ecosystem, while making the platform an even better place for players to connect around the games they love. Uniquely positioned at the intersection of connection and play, Discord’s social layer drives player engagement, game discovery, and commerce in a single unified platform. When developers build on this foundation, players get better ways to find, play, and share games with friends.
Playing with friends has become a powerful driver of engagement and retention for game developers, and data shows that Discord plays a unique role as the platform where players already come together around the games they love. In December 2025, PC players spent a median of six times longer playing when at least one friend was present on Discord, and a median of eight times longer when playing with three friends. Players using Discord voice channels also played games an estimated 66% more days during the three months ended December 31, 2025, highlighting how social play on Discord turns into deeper engagement, longer playtime, and measurable value for both players and developers. Players have a better time, and games thrive.
Discord is now rolling out new updates that help developers drive incremental revenue, build connections with their most engaged players, and acquire users.
Discord's Social Layer: From Connection to Commerce
One year ago, Discord launched its Social SDK, giving developers a way to natively integrate Discord's social graph directly into their games through account linking. The results have been significant: across more than 15 games that have integrated the Social SDK since December 2024, each one has seen an increase in frequency of play among users with linked accounts. Linked players showed a median 25% increase in game launch days, and play sessions grew by a median of 16%. Account linking does more than deepen engagement – it also unlocks the opportunity for game developers to drive incremental revenue on Discord.
Discord Social Commerce lets developers sell in-game items to players with linked accounts directly within their official Discord servers and integrates those purchases across Discord's social surfaces – player profiles, Wishlists, DMs, and voice chats. Players can browse and buy without leaving Discord, and friends can gift items even if they don't play the game, extending a developer's reach well beyond its active player base.
Discord piloted Social Commerce with Marvel Rivals in December 2025, and the results showed just how powerful native social behaviors can be as a commerce driver. Based on an internal study, 41% of purchases were gifts, and 25% of gift buyers were lapsed or non-players, demonstrating that Social Commerce didn't just monetize existing players, it also brought new and dormant players back into the game's community. Discord is now opening Social Commerce by invitation to additional partners.
“We spend a lot of time talking to developers and they consistently tell us their most valuable players are on Discord. Players already come together on the platform around the games they love, making it a natural place to discover new experiences as well as buy and gift in-game items. What we saw with our Marvel Rivals pilot is that when commerce is built into social spaces in a way that feels native to players, it can unlock incremental sales for developers.” – Stanislav Vishnevskiy, CTO and Co-Founder of Discord
“We want Marvel Rivals to feel accessible and engaging wherever our players choose to play and connect. Discord is where the social layer of gaming truly lives, and it uniquely sits at the intersection of connection and play for our players. By making Discord the unified social layer of Marvel Rivals through account linking and commerce, we’re meeting players where they already are and letting social interaction flow naturally into gameplay. Our partnership with Discord demonstrates that when you remove friction, the game and its ecosystem thrive together.” – Yachen Bian, Publishing and Marketing Lead of Marvel Rivals at NetEase Games
Discord Social Commerce is the latest offering in the company’s growing suite of tools that help developers grow their games. Selling in-game items on Discord gives developers of all sizes, from indie studios to AAA publishers, a way to connect with players in the communities where gaming culture already lives.
Alongside the expansion of Discord Social Commerce, Discord is introducing additional capabilities that make it easier for players to find and engage with games, while giving developers and advertisers new ways to grow.
Official Game Profiles on Discord
Highly engaged players are especially active on Discord. These are the players who are most likely to pre-order, buy day-one, write reviews, and spend on downloadable content across games. For a developer, that means Discord isn't just another social channel – it's where their most passionate players already spend time. Much of that time is spent in official game communities, where players gather to debate game strategy, share feedback directly with developers, and find their next squad.
Developers can now claim their official game profile on Discord and verify their official community server, proving ownership and giving them greater control over their game’s identity on the platform. This allows developers to customize how their game appears across Discord, from core game details to seasonal brand assets, as well as establish the one true home of their game’s community. Players can discover a game’s official profile through their friend’s shared activity, making it easier to find new games, while developers benefit from increased visibility that can support organic discovery to help them grow their communities.
Communities on Discord give developers real-time, qualitative signals on what's working in their games and what isn't. As of December 31, 2025, there were over 10,000 game communities on Discord, with more than 80 million members, creating a direct feedback loop between players and developers. That scale is especially powerful in early access and live service games, where rapid iteration and constant player input can define the long term success of a game.
Introducing Instant Play Quests
Quests are Discord’s rewarded ad format designed to feel like gameplay while delivering meaningful value to users by authentically connecting with their gaming interests. With a 96% median ad completion rate, Quests deliver meaningful lift for game advertisers leveraging the format to bolster game discovery [source: Discord internal data, December 2025].
Discord is continuing to evolve its advertising offering with the introduction of its latest Quests format, Instant Play Quests. Powered by cloud streaming technology, Instant Play Quests are the next iteration of Play Quests, offering a new way for players to instantly try games directly on the platform while removing the purchase, download, and installation barriers that are often the biggest friction to game trial. Players can launch a full game trial in seconds with no installs, no storage requirements, and no friction.
Instant Play Quests combine instant play, rewards, and Discord’s social graph to turn curiosity into trial and engagement. Early tests show Instant Play Quests can drive up to four times higher new user trial rates, with stronger completion among new and lapsed players versus standard formats. Instant Play Quests will be made available for games supported on NVIDIA GeForce NOW or Amazon GameLift Streams.
In addition to expanding its Quests formats, Discord advertising is scaling into a measurable performance engine that drives engagement and return on investment through advanced targeting and expanded measurement capabilities. Combined with Discord Social Commerce and official communities, Quests offer a complete loop of discovery, play, and reward on the platform.
Discord is uniquely positioned at the center of the gaming ecosystem and one of the only platforms that connects players, boosts playtime, drives discovery, and powers commerce all in one unified place. By closing the gap between where players hang out and the games they play, Discord makes it easier to discover something new, jump in with friends, and stay connected to the games that matter. With these updates, Discord continues to strengthen its unique role as the social layer of gaming, creating shared value for players and developers alike.
About Discord
Discord is the communications platform that enables you to build meaningful connections around the joy of playing games through voice, video, and text features. As a communications platform purposely built for people who play multiplayer games, Discord has a highly engaged community of 90+ million daily active users. Headquartered in San Francisco, Discord is free to download at Discord.com with an optional subscription offering called Nitro that offers enhanced streaming and customization features.
