Discord wants to steer its app back to gaming, and it’s rolling out an app redesign to help make that happen. The new look features reworked group messages, voice chats, video calls, and more. In a message to users, Discord CEO Jason Citron says the company realized it needs to narrow its focus from “broadly being a community-centric chat app” to a service that “helps people deepen their friendships around games and shared interests.
By turning its attention back to gaming, Discord is reversing the plan it set in motion in 2020. As the covid pandemic increased the need for messaging platforms like Discord, the company wanted to become a more general chat app that allowed users to “spend quality time with people, whether catching up, learning something, or sharing ideas.” A lot has changed since then. Discord laid off 17 percent of its staff after growing its headcount too quickly.