In practical terms, what rebranding means for current users and, more specifically, new Discord users is a “simplified” onboarding experience and updated templates that make it easy to configure a server. In the future, there will also be fewer pranks within the app benchmark games “to make sure everyone can get in on the fun.” Additionally, Discord claims that user safety will be a primary focus. “We will continue to take decisive action against white supremacists, racists and others who seek to use Discord for evil,” the company said. Discord says it has also fixed “hundreds” of errors, as well as 200 percent greater voice and video capacity.
You can see all the changes reflected on the company’s new website, which includes an updated slogan: “Your place to talk.” Remarkably, the homepage mentions games only once.
Discord spends much of the blog post saying the rebranding is a reflection of how people use the platform. “Looking to the future, we want to focus on the experiences and people that matter to us. And that doesn’t always include games. In many cases, it told us it doesn’t include games at all,” the company said. However, what he does not mention is that the change in focus may have been necessary due to greater financial interests and more conventional ambitions.
Towards the end of the blog post, Discord inadvertently mentions “$ 100 million in additional funds.” Prior to today, Discord’s most recent funding round saw the company raise $ 150 million at a valuation of $ 2 billion. This was in 2018 when he was experimenting with his own digital gaming storefront. Much has changed since then, especially in the past few months due to the coronavirus pandemic. Since the beginning of the year, the number of people using the app daily has increased by 50 percent in the United States, doubled in Spain and France, and tripled in Italy.
According to a recent Bloomberg According to the report, Discord saw those statistics as an opportunity to raise additional capital and entered into conversations with investors seeking money at a valuation of between $ 3 billion and $ 4 billion. A Discord spokesperson confirmed to Engadget that the $ 100 million mentioned in today’s blog post is new funds. Therefore, it is safe to say that the company now has a higher valuation. That also means that its investors, one of whom is Riot Games owner Tencent, now expect more from Discord. The company needs to offer a higher return on investment, and the best way to do this is to break into the mainstream.
