Sony and Discord are now into partnership to bring the chat app to PlayStation
Sony and Discord Partnership
Sony and Discord announced a partnership deal in which the latter's popular gaming-focused chat app will be integrated with PlayStation's built-in social tools. It's a significant move, and one that comes as a surprise given how recently acquisition talks were in the air. Sony appears to brought a better deal than Microsoft, taking an undisclosed minority stake in the company ahead of a rumoured initial public offering.
The brief announcement post does not specify the nature of the partnership. The closest we get to hearing what will actually happen is that the two companies intend to "bring the PlayStation and Discord experiences closer together on console and mobile beginning early next year," which is plausible.
Discord has previously partnered with console platforms, though its partnership with Microsoft was not particularly deep. It is almost certainly more than a "friends can see what you're playing on your PS5" and more of a "this is an alternate chat infrastructure for anyone using a Sony system." It'll likely be a robust, system-wide option that's clearly Discord-branded — such as "Start a voice chat with Discord" when inviting a friend to your game or joining theirs.
The timeline of early 2022 also suggests that this is a significant product update, most likely coinciding with Sony's long-term PS5 roadmap.
Things to Watch out For
While the new PlayStation is superior to the previous one in terms of voice chat, the previous one was never great, and Discord is not only easier to use but something millions of gamers already do daily. And, if a game isn't exclusive, being robustly cross-platform is the next best option — so PS5 players being able to join and chat with PC players seamlessly alleviates a pain point there.
Of course, Microsoft has its own advantages as the operator of both the Xbox and Windows ecosystems. Still, the company has repeatedly squandered this opportunity, and the acquisition of Discord may have been the missing link. Of course, that bird has flown, and while Microsoft's acquisition talks reportedly valued Discord at around $10 billion, the growing chat app appears to have decided to go public and attempt to become the world's dominant voice platform rather than become a prized pet.
Sony contributed financially by participating in Discord's recent $100 million H round. The amount they contributed is unknown, but given the amount of debt the company has taken on and its total valuation, it cannot be more than a small minority stake.
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