Discord raises $150M, surpassing $2B valuation • Hacker News Board

arvidkahl wrote: post #10

The close proximity to very lucrative services like Twitch makes this an extremely interesting company. With eSports breaking into mainstream media outlets like ESPN, having a fully fledged community gathering place with all the trimmings, voice chat, raffles appears to be marketing heaven for a generation raised on YouTube and gaming streams. I wonder what's in store for Discord next. Integration into games? Digital…

They did recently launch their game store, so they'll be taking on the liked of Steam but as a $10/month service to access (almost) all available games.

Re: Discord raises $150M, surpassing $2B valuation

#15

Post by starshadowx2 » Fri, Dec 21, 2018, 11:22 PM UTC

arvidkahl wrote: post #10

The close proximity to very lucrative services like Twitch makes this an extremely interesting company. With eSports breaking into mainstream media outlets like ESPN, having a fully fledged community gathering place with all the trimmings, voice chat, raffles appears to be marketing heaven for a generation raised on YouTube and gaming streams. I wonder what's in store for Discord next. Integration into games? Digital…

Discord is now imo the best positioned competitor to Steam based on their latest updates.

They're launching a full self-service game publishing platform and only taking 10% revenue, instead of Steam's 30%. Discord already has the gaming focused community and their store has already been doing very well and is super easy to use. If Discord broke into the streaming market there would be no reason to ever leave it for some people. Buy your game, talk to friends and join their games, watch streamed games - all from one client.

Discord does already have some integration into games with the rich presence stuff and some games you can even jump into from a chat. The overlay also works like as if it's chat within a game.

Re: Discord raises $150M, surpassing $2B valuation

#16

Post by dvt » Fri, Dec 21, 2018, 11:24 PM UTC

I'm bearish on Discord. Unlike Slack, it targets a price-averse demographic and is attempting to enter spaces that are very saturated (Steam, Origin, Epic, Ubisoft are already crushing the digital distribution medium), so then it's basically an IRC replacement for gamers.

I understand Slack's valuation as it targets huge companies with up to decades-long contracts and has projected revenues > $1B for this year, but I just don't see Discord making money the same way. I use it daily with my friends, but none of us have Nitro (although the features are pretty neat). The only way I see it moving to profitability is doing targeted ads (which will significantly hinder user experience).

I see it going the way of Xfire[1].

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xfire

Re: Discord raises $150M, surpassing $2B valuation

#17

Post by saagarjha » Fri, Dec 21, 2018, 11:24 PM UTC

6cd6beb wrote: post #13

ohiovr wrote: post #2

I'm not a user of it but I'm wondering how they make money?

Same way slack and moviepass do: Not really. Unless you consider taking VC captial "making money"

Slack has premium plans that they make money off of.

Re: Discord raises $150M, surpassing $2B valuation

#18

Post by Pfhreak » Fri, Dec 21, 2018, 11:24 PM UTC

starshadowx2 wrote: post #15

arvidkahl wrote: post #10

The close proximity to very lucrative services like Twitch makes this an extremely interesting company. With eSports breaking into mainstream media outlets like ESPN, having a fully fledged community gathering place with all the trimmings, voice chat, raffles appears to be marketing heaven for a generation raised on YouTube and gaming streams. I wonder what's in store for Discord next. Integration into games? Digital…

Discord is now imo the best positioned competitor to Steam based on their latest updates. They're launching a full self-service game publishing platform and only taking 10% revenue, instead of Steam's 30%. Discord already has the gaming focused community and their store has already been doing very well and is super easy to use. If Discord broke into the streaming market there would be no reason to ever leave it for s…

I might argue that Epic is also positioned to take on Steam. Small cut of proceeds, and they have a HUGE audience of kids about to age into the gaming market who have only ever played Fortnite (and don't have the baggage of a huge Steam library.)

I love Discord though, and I generally agree with your analysis.

Re: Discord raises $150M, surpassing $2B valuation

#19

Post by Pfhreak » Fri, Dec 21, 2018, 11:25 PM UTC

z_open wrote: post #12

ohiovr wrote: post #2

I'm not a user of it but I'm wondering how they make money?

Selling user data.

Do you have a citation for this?

Re: Discord raises $150M, surpassing $2B valuation

#20

Post by Pfhreak » Fri, Dec 21, 2018, 11:27 PM UTC

dvt wrote: post #16

I'm bearish on Discord. Unlike Slack, it targets a price-averse demographic and is attempting to enter spaces that are very saturated (Steam, Origin, Epic, Ubisoft are already crushing the digital distribution medium), so then it's basically an IRC replacement for gamers. I understand Slack's valuation as it targets huge companies with up to decades-long contracts and has projected revenues > $1B for this year, but I…

Discord, however, is a bit of a lifestyle brand like Twitch. It's where conversations happen, and it's incredibly useful to the gaming community. If they can get even a toehold with their subscription services and store, I think they have a very serious chance of turning towards something valuable.