Microsoft plans to acquire the Discord chat app, which is very popular with gamers. Bloomberg wrote that the Redmond giant would spend $ 10 billion on it. However, it remains uncertain whether it will land a takeover. An IPO is also an option.
Bloomberg also knows that Microsoft is not the only candidate to take on Discord, although the news agency has not specified who the others are. Discord could have had conversations with Amazon and Epic Games in the past. It is not immediately clear whether these companies have shown interest again.
Discord is a San Francisco company that has run a free platform since 2015 that allows players to communicate via chat, video, and audio. During the pandemic, the company has grown exponentially and now has around one hundred million monthly users. It is also increasingly moving towards a “public” chatting app rather than targeting players specifically.
Microsoft already expressed interest in acquiring TikTok last year and the company is also said to have had discussions with Pinterest. The Discord acquisition is in line with the strategy of shifting more toward software and services. Bloomberg believes that bundling Nitro (a paid Discord offering) with Xbox Game Pass, for example, would be a useful use case. The intent to purchase Discord also appears to indicate this Microsoft It is still interested in investing in the games division, after acquiring studios like ZeniMax Media and Bethesda.
