Discord announces slew of new monetization and safety features

19.10.2023 - 15:43 / venturebeat.com / New

Community and communications platform Discord announced a wide range of new features. Some are quality of life improvements while others are geared towards monetization and safety. Some of these features launch today while others will debut in the coming months.

Currently, Discord has more than 150 million active users each month.

Discord’s primary monetization method is its monthly subscription program: Nitro. Many of the platform’s new features are providing more value to subscribers.

Many of Nitro’s new perks focus on customization. Recent, Discord launched an in-app shop where Nitro users had early access to buy avatar decorations. Prior to this, avatar decorations were seasonal and time limited.

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Starting today, Nitro members have new options to personalize their presence on the platform. Subscribers can now customize their profile preview with animations and select an entrance sound that will play when they join a voice channel. Further, Nitro members will be able to customize the app icon for both mobile and desktop from 19 different styles.

Soon the shop will open up to all Discord users to purchase avatar decorations and profile effects. While they will lose exclusivity, Nitro members will get a discount on shop items. Notably, this is the first time Discord is monetizing one-off purchases, rather than subscriptions.

Additionally, Discord is doubling down on giving Nitro members early access to upcoming features. Since the summer, Discord has been experimenting with this functionality. Currently, Nitro members are testing Clips, which lets users capture and share exciting moments without leaving the app.

Alongside adding value to Nitro, Discord is also giving third-party developers more ways to monetize directly on the platform. Currently, over 750,000 third-party apps are available on the platform which are used by around 45 million users monthly.

Recently, Discord enabled U.S. developers to launch Premium App Subscriptions. Users can unlock additional features for themselves or sever admins can buy a guild subscription to give an entire server access. This program is now rolling out to eligible developers in Europe and the U.K..

Discord did not comment on the revenue split between app developers and the platform itself at the time of writing. Discord currently takes a 10% cut of server subscriptions. Moreover, Discord plans to add the option to make one-off purchases for apps in the future.

Moreover, Discord plans to make apps and activities more accessible and intuitive to users. Today,