Discord is expanding its Activities feature by letting third-party developers build games that can be played directly on the platform. The company has also opened up funding opportunities for creators through a new pitch program.
As Discord announced in a blog post, the company will roll out its new Embedded App SDK on March 18. Here are the main opportunities it will provide to third-party developers:
- Building apps and games that are embedded in an iframe within Discord and can be played without downloading them;
- Shipping one game across desktop, mobile, and web versions of Discord;
- Adding multiplayer features that require no additional downloads or actions from users;
- Using Discord servers to prototype, test different builds, and collect feedback from users;
- Monetizing the game with integrated payment rails like one-time purchases or subscriptions (the feature is expected to be available later).
“We want Discord to grow into the best place for developers to do it all: build, share, distribute, be discovered, and monetize their work,” the post reads. “We want Discord to be where your App gets its start, where it finds a home in the communities of people around the world, and where it can be easily shared between friends.”
Discord also plans to introduce some discoverability tools that should drive organic growth by allowing players to easily find and share apps on the platform. More details about the Embedded App SDK can be found here.
The Activities feature initially launched last December, with just under 20 embedded games and apps available to users. With the upcoming global rollout, Discord plans to increase the number of embedded titles by providing third-party devs with new tools and opportunities.
The company is also bringing back its Discord App Pitches program. Developers will be able to submit their pitches between April 1 and May 1 for a chance to win up to $30,000 and other prizes. In addition to user voting, the competition will be judged by professionals such as Discord director of game development Ann-Marie Harbour, Funday Games head of product & partners Emil Kjaehr, Sony Interactive Enteratinment product manager Dustin Clingman, and Discord software engineer Zoë Wentzel.
Last but not least, Discord will allow users to add their favorite apps and games to their account and use them anywhere on the platform, outside of just servers. The experiment will be available for testing starting March 18.