{"id":5206,"date":"2019-02-18T05:57:55","date_gmt":"2019-02-18T13:57:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/clickup.com\/blog\/?p=5206"},"modified":"2023-05-02T12:15:13","modified_gmt":"2023-05-02T19:15:13","slug":"discord-growth-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/clickup.com\/blog\/discord-growth-story\/","title":{"rendered":"Discord Growth Story: 5 Takeaways to Replicate in Your Business"},"content":{"rendered":"

The <\/span>Discord<\/span><\/a> app is on fire.<\/span><\/p>\n

The chat app for video gamers amassed a whopping <\/span>130 million users in a short span of 3 years<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s not all.<\/span><\/p>\n

While Discord<\/a> has been slaying big brands like Caffeine, Curse, Teamspeak in the video game communication space, it has also expanded into business team communication space, competing effectively against legacy services such as Slack and Skype.<\/span><\/p>\n

What\u2019s more?<\/span><\/p>\n

After raising $150 million in funds from its existing investors in 2018, Discord has topped the <\/span>$2 billion valuation mark<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

What\u2019s the secret?<\/span><\/p>\n

Dig in as we take a closer look at Discord\u2019s game plan.<\/span><\/p>\n

A Snapshot of Discord\u2019s Growth<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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From Discord Twitter<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Discord: A Brief History<\/strong> <\/span><\/h2>\n

This was not the first time that CEO, Jason Citron, Founder of Discord, struck gold. <\/span><\/p>\n

Jason had already tasted success when he co-created and successfully sold OpenFeint, a social gaming platform for iPhone gamers <\/span>for $100 million in 2011<\/span><\/a>. He was also the founder of Hammer & Chisel, a game development studio. <\/span><\/p>\n

So, what is Discord\u2019s origin story?<\/strong><\/p>\n

While working on developing a free-to-play iPad game, Fates Forever, Jason encountered numerous issues with the existing VoIP options.<\/span>
\n<\/span>To overcome these, he started working on a chat service that could provide a secure voice and text messaging service for his internal team. This was the beginning of the chat app for multiplayer mobile gamers, or, Discord.<\/span>
\n<\/span>When Jason\u2019s team failed to monetize the much-anticipated Fates Forever game, released in 2014, they persisted with Discord. Soon, they decided to market Discord as a free voice and text chat application for gamers who want to talk to team members during a game. <\/span><\/p>\n

The gamble paid off. <\/span><\/p>\n

Discord with a low-band, high-quality VOIP audio<\/a> that offered a non-interruptive channel for gamers to communicate soon catapulted to the top from the time of its release in 2015. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The numbers speak for themselves.<\/span><\/p>\n

Messages sent through Discord in a month rose dramatically to <\/span>15 billion in 2018, from 6 billion in 2017<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

By strategically partnering with Fortnite, a popular video game and Twitch, a streaming platform with a massive viewer base, <\/span>the company grew to acquire a user base of 8.9 million daily active users by 2017. <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Riding high on a growth wave, Discord has now partnered with Esports, Spotify, and Xbox to amplify its reach exponentially. <\/span><\/p>\n

How did the initial growth come about?<\/span><\/p>\n

Predominantly due to word-of-mouth marketing. (Hard to believe, but true!)<\/span><\/p>\n

Gamers loved the ease of use and a useful app that did not hog their CPU storage. Interestingly, much of Discord\u2019s initial success is attributed to its envious tech stack.<\/span><\/p>\n

So, let\u2019s take a closer look at the technology that powers Discord\u2019s advancement.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Tech Behind Discord\u2019s Growth<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Discord\u2019s strength lies in 2 critical factors:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Ability to handle thousands of server communications without glitches.<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. A multi-platform support namely web, standalone app, phone.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Unlike its competitors that are clunky, heavy and outdated, Discord has low latency and supports large network groups. <\/span><\/p>\n

    Discord supports multiple platforms by implementing audio and video features using WebRTC.<\/span><\/p>\n

    WebRTC is a guideline that specifies the standards for audio and video communication in real time. Additionally, Discord gateways, Discord guilds, and Discord voice are instrumental in forming a robust backend architecture that makes it possible to scale seamlessly.<\/span><\/p>\n

    One of the most critical differentiators that makes Discord the go-to app for video gamers is its open-bot friendly ecosystem.<\/span><\/p>\n

    The Discord bots need a special mention here. <\/span><\/p>\n

    They are a key factor that aided in anchoring the brand\u2019s identity among the gamers and their community.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Although most bots are used for automating everyday administrative tasks, they have a natural language system inbuilt. \u00a0Since most gamers are tech-savvy, the freedom to tinker and customize bots using cutting edge technology is alluring.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Not surprisingly Discord bots are quite diverse depending on their function – from Dyno bot that moderates server to Dankmemer that creates quirky memes.<\/span><\/p>\n

    If gamers can dream it, Discord allows them to build it. <\/span><\/p>\n

    Tracing the Growth Trajectory<\/strong> <\/span><\/h2>\n