Discord

OpenFeint, a social media platform focusing on integrating social networking features into online games, was established in 2008. It was founded by Jason Citron, who later co-founded Discord.

Jason Citron sold his social gaming platform, OpenFeint, to GREE in 2011 for US$104 million. He later used the proceeds to establish Hammer & Chisel, a game development studio.

In 2012, Jason Citron founded Hammer & Chisel, a game development studio, after selling OpenFeint. This marked the beginning of a new venture for Citron.

Fates Forever, the first product developed by Hammer & Chisel, was released in 2014. Despite being anticipated as the first MOBA game on mobile platforms, it did not achieve commercial success.

Discord, the chat service developed by Hammer & Chisel, was opened to the public in beta on March 6, 2015. This marked a significant milestone in the development of the platform.

Discord was officially launched on May 13, 2015, as a free voice and text communication application and digital distribution platform. It was designed to cater to various communities such as gamers, education, and businesses.

On July 28, 2016, Discord implemented support for calls between two or more users, improving the communication options available on the platform.

Discord was used to plan and organize the white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, which resulted in violent events.

In January 2018, The Daily Beast reported that Discord servers were involved in distributing revenge porn and real-world harassment, leading to server shutdowns and user bans.

In April 2018, Microsoft revealed plans to offer Discord support for Xbox Live users, enabling them to link their Discord and Xbox Live accounts. This integration allowed users to connect with their Xbox Live friends list via Discord, enhancing cross-platform communication.

By May 2018, Discord had amassed 130 million users, maintaining a 25% MoM growth rate and solidifying its position as a leading platform for gamers to communicate and coordinate.

In July 2018, Discord updated its terms of service to prohibit drawn pornography featuring underaged subjects. This decision was met with criticism as Discord was accused of allowing 'cub' content, leading to a social media backlash.

In August 2018, Discord introduced a games storefront beta, allowing users to buy a curated selection of games through the platform. It included a 'First on Discord' featured games section with 90 days of exclusivity on the Discord marketplace.

In October 2018, Discord rebranded 'Discord Nitro' to 'Discord Nitro Classic' and introduced a new subscription tier called 'Discord Nitro' which included access to free games through the Discord game store.

In December 2018, Discord announced it raised $150 million in funding at a $2 billion valuation. The round was led by Greenoaks Capital and included other major investors.

A book titled 'Discord For Dummies' authored by Tee Morris was published by Wiley, providing insights into using Discord effectively.

On January 27, 2021, Discord banned the r/WallStreetBets' server during the GameStop short squeeze due to 'hateful and discriminatory content', sparking controversy. Discord later allowed a new server and assisted with moderation.

British organization Logically reported that Holocaust denial, neo-Nazism, and hate speech were thriving on Discord and Telegram groups associated with the German website Disclose.tv.

In November 2022, CNIL fined Discord €800,000 for violating the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) by not disconnecting users from voice chats and allowing weak passwords.

In May 2022, Payton S. Gendron was identified as the suspect in a race-driven mass shooting in Buffalo, New York, where ten people were killed. Gendron used a private Discord server as a diary to plan the attack, inviting users to view it before the shooting.

Forum Channels were added to Discord in September 2022, allowing for longer and separate conversations, bringing an Internet forum experience to the platform.

In October 2022, Discord replaced the 'Discord Nitro Classic' subscription tier with 'Discord Nitro Basic' priced at $2.99, offering a subset of features from the higher-priced Nitro tier.

On December 5, 2023, Discord revamped their mobile app for iOS and Android devices, adding new features like dark mode, voice messages, and new icons.

On April Fool's 2024, Discord accidentally broke the record for the most viewed YouTube video in 24 hours by playing the announcement video on loop in the app itself. However, over 1.3 billion views were removed two days later when YouTube fixed the views count.

Jason Citron, the CEO of Discord, discusses the future of the internet focusing on gaming and group chats in an interview.