Stanislav Vyshnevsky, co-founder and CTO of Discord, revealed the history of the popular messenger during an interview at Tokyo Game Show 2024.
The idea of Discord was born out of Vyshnevsky’s desire to improve communication in online games. He said that while studying in college, he actively played Final Fantasy XI, the first MMORPG in the Final Fantasy series, which was released in 2002. Vyshnevsky and his gaming friends tried various methods of communication, including Skype, Mumble, forums, and phones. However, these methods proved too complicated to use during the game.
Dissatisfied with the options available, Wisniewski developed a prototype of what would become Discord. Full development began after he and Jason Citron founded GREE in California.
For almost a decade, Discord has become a platform where colleagues, players, and enthusiasts of various hobbies gather. The company successfully monetizes its service with Nitro subscriptions, avatars, and other content. Vyshnevsky noted that this has provided a solid financial foundation for the business.
Discord has expanded its functionality to game consoles. Many features, such as voice calls and game tracking, have become available on Xbox and PlayStation platforms. The company has also entered the board game market by introducing official support for Roll20, an online service for dungeon masters.
Vyshnevsky admitted that he is still fond of MMORPGs. He plays Final Fantasy XIV since its launch in 2010, reached level 100 in most classes, and even took a week off to play the Golden Legacy expansion.
Source: Techspot
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