This is not the case yet, but Discord will officially introduce a somewhat special advertising system. Obviously, this is already scaring many players.
This week, Discord took a new step by introducing advertising into its ecosystem, a first for this platform that had long shown its reluctance towards advertising. According to current information, this foray begins with sponsored quests. Mainly intended for video game developers who want to promote their products to Discord users.
Discord starts advertising
The Sponsored Quests initiative was announced by Peter Sellis, Senior Vice President of Product at Discord. This feature allows PC players to earn in-game rewards for encouraging their friends to watch their games live via Discord. An approach that, on paper, seems less intrusive than the advertising formats of other social media platforms. Users have the option not to interact with these ads.
The implementation of this advertising strategy seems to be guided by the desire to provide video games with increased visibility. The goal of Discord is to introduce these products to gamer friends. By using age data, geographic location and gaming habits to target ads. These ads are displayed in a specific corner of the interface. However, with the option for users to deactivate personalized promotions.
Although this new feature represents a significant change for Discord, it remains faithful to a logic of discretion. Users can see these ads through their gift inventory or through contextual entry points such as their friends’ activities, with the option to opt out of an ad for a specific quest or game at any time.
In fact, Discord has already tested these announcements in collaboration with Lucasfilm Games and Epic Games. Featuring Star Wars themed gear in Fortnite. These preliminary tests reflect Discord’s commitment to generalize advertising across all games offered on its platform. This development marks an important step for the platform, which until recently had emphasized the absence of advertising as a competitive advantage.
