On May 3rd, Sony announced it had entered into a new partnership with online communications application Discord. Sony made a large investment into Discord and now holds a minority stake in the company. As a result, Discord is expected to be fully integrated into the Playstation Network by 2022.
“We’re constantly looking for new ways to enable players around the world to connect with one another, form new friendships and communities, and share fun experiences and lasting memories,” said Sony President Jim Ryan in a blog post. “Our goal is to bring the Discord and PlayStation experiences closer together on console and mobile starting early next year, allowing friends, groups, and communities to hang out, have fun, and communicate more easily while playing games together.”
According to a recent report from The Wall Street Journal, Discord ended talks to sell itself to Microsoft in late April. The month before, there were rumors that Microsoft was attempting to buy the gaming chat firm for about $10 billion.
The Profit‘s Take:
Very interesting that Sony would swoop in with a partnership so soon after acquisition talks with Microsoft broke down. Any follower of the Profit knew that Discord would never sell for $10B. I’m curious if Discord pursues a path that prioritizes building out integrations like this or focuses primarily on their own platform. Either way, this is a win for both Sony and Discord. Sony gets best-in-class communication and community functionality, and Discord gets millions of new users ahead of a likely IPO.
(All information was provided by BBC, TechCrunch, Bloomberg, The Verge, CNET, and Venture Beat)
0 comments on “Sony Announces Partnership And Investment Into Discord”