Discord Patch Notes: March 11, 2025 (opens in new tab)

Discord's "Patch Notes" series provides an overview of technical enhancements aimed at improving the platform's performance, responsiveness, and general stability. By bridging the gap between developers and the community, the initiative encourages active participation in identifying bugs and testing upcoming features. ### Community-Driven Bug Tracking * Users can report technical issues through the Bimonthly Bug Megathread located on the community-managed r/DiscordApp subreddit. * Discord’s engineering team monitors these community reports directly to prioritize fixes and address specific usability grievances. * This collaborative approach allows the team to identify edge cases that might be missed during internal testing. ### iOS Early Access via TestFlight * Discord offers an opt-in TestFlight version for iOS users who want to trial features before their official public release. * Testers can access this build via the dis.gd/testflight link to help identify "pesky bugs" in real-world environments. * This beta testing phase acts as a critical quality assurance layer to ensure stability for the broader user base. ### Update Deployment and Merging * All documented fixes and performance improvements have been officially committed and merged into the platform's codebase. * Although the code is finalized, the actual deployment is incremental, meaning updates may roll out to different platforms at varying times. To contribute to a more stable experience, users should utilize the dedicated subreddit for reporting persistent bugs or enroll in the TestFlight program to provide feedback on pre-release builds.

December Staff Picks: It’s Giving Games (opens in new tab)

This blog post explores the addictive nature of modern gaming hits like *Balatro* and the profound personal impact of receiving the right game as a gift. It highlights how certain titles act as "canon events" in a person’s life, permanently altering their interests and gaming habits. The discussion serves as a platform for various contributors to share their recent gaming experiences and the specific titles that shaped their history with the medium. **The Balatro Craze** * The game is recognized as the "mobile game of the year" following accolades from The Game Awards. * The mechanics involve complex card-based synergies, such as combining a Queen card with the Photograph Joker and the Sock & Buskin Joker to trigger multiple score multipliers. * The author notes the game’s extreme "time-sink" potential, making it a powerful but potentially disruptive gift for friends. **Gifting and Gaming Canon Events** * The post centers on the concept of "canon event" games—titles that are so influential they fundamentally change the player’s perspective on gaming. * Specific mention is made of *Tony Hawk’s Underground 2* as a transformative title for the author. * The piece introduces insights from a panel of contributors, including Emi, Matt, Cody, and a new addition, Scott, who discuss their personal histories with gifted games. If you are looking for a gift that might "alter the brain chemistry" of a friend, consider titles with deep mechanical loops like *Balatro*, but be prepared for them to disappear into the game for a few months.

Supercharging Discord Mobile: Our Journey to a Faster App (opens in new tab)

Discord leverages React and React Native to maintain high development velocity across desktop and mobile platforms while navigating the performance constraints of cross-platform frameworks. After initially avoiding React Native for Android due to hardware limitations, the company transitioned its client in 2022 by utilizing the Hermes JavaScript engine and targeting improved device capabilities. This strategic shift has allowed for significant efficiency gains, including a 50% reduction in median startup times as the team shifts focus toward optimizing experiences for power users. ### Cross-Platform Development and Android Transition * Discord uses React for desktop and React Native for mobile to allow unified feature shipping across platforms. * The company originally delayed adopting React Native on Android to avoid performance degradation on a wide range of hardware. * The formal transition to React Native for Android occurred in 2022, spurred by the introduction of Hermes, a JavaScript engine optimized for React Native. ### Performance Optimization and Efficiency * React Native introduced specific trade-offs, particularly regarding startup times on lower-end Android devices. * Discord’s engineering team successfully halved median startup times throughout 2023 through focused architectural improvements. * Current development efforts are prioritizing performance for "power users" who push the app's limits, ensuring stability and speed for high-intensity use cases. Discord’s journey highlights that while cross-platform frameworks like React Native require rigorous optimization—especially on Android—the trade-off for development speed and feature parity is increasingly viable through modern tools like the Hermes engine.

Discord Patch Notes: February 3, 2025 (opens in new tab)

Discord’s "Patch Notes" series serves as a transparent log of the platform's continuous efforts to enhance performance, reliability, and overall usability. The series highlights finalized engineering commits aimed at resolving bugs and improving system responsiveness across all supported platforms. **System Maintenance and Rollout Strategy** * Engineering efforts focus on core platform metrics, specifically addressing application responsiveness, stability, and general bug fixes. * While all listed updates are committed and merged into the codebase prior to publication, the actual deployment occurs via rolling releases, meaning features may arrive on different platforms at different times. **Collaborative Bug Identification** * Discord leverages the community-managed r/DiscordApp subreddit to facilitate direct communication between the user base and the development team. * A dedicated Bimonthly Bug Megathread serves as the primary intake channel for identifying new issues, which the engineering team then investigates for future patches. Users are encouraged to keep their applications updated to the latest version and utilize the official community threads to report any persistent technical issues.

How Microsoft Engineers Build AI: Learn about scalable RAG-enabled AI Apps (opens in new tab)

For developers, the emphasis on building intelligence into apps has never been clearer. Over the next three years, 92% of companies plan on investing in AI to achieve business outcomes like enhancing productivity and delivering better customer service. At Microsoft, developers a…

Why Everyone Can (and Should) Be a Great Storyteller | Figma Blog (opens in new tab)

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Measuring Product Impact Without A/B Testing: How Discord Used the Synthetic Control Method for Voice Messages (opens in new tab)

When Discord launched Voice Messages in 2023, the engineering and data teams faced a significant hurdle in measuring the feature's impact through traditional A/B testing. Because the feature is inherently social—requiring both a sender and a receiver—standard user-level randomization would fail to capture the true causal effect due to heavy network interference. The team had to navigate the limitations of their testing infrastructure, ultimately seeking a balance between imperfect user-level tests and geographically biased alternatives. ### The Conflict Between Social Features and SUTVA * Traditional A/B testing relies on the Stable Unit Treatment Value Assumption (SUTVA), which posits that the behavior of one user is independent of the treatment assignment of others. * Voice Messages break this assumption because the feature’s value is realized through interactions; if a sender is in the treatment group but the receiver is in control, the experimental boundaries blur. * Network effects occur when treatment behavior in one group influences the control group, potentially skewing metrics and leading to an inaccurate understanding of the feature's success. ### Infrastructure Constraints and Randomization Strategies * The ideal solution for social platforms is cluster randomization, which assigns entire networks or communities to a single experimental arm to contain interactions. * Discord’s internal testing platform did not support cluster randomization at the time of the Voice Message launch, forcing the team to consider less-than-ideal methodologies. * User-level randomization was deemed "bad" for this specific use case because it could not account for the interconnected nature of Discord’s user base. ### The Trade-offs of Geo-Testing * One proposed alternative was randomizing by country, based on the assumption that most social networks are language or country-specific. * By treating an entire geographic region while keeping another as a control, the team hoped to mitigate cross-group network interference. * However, geo-testing introduces significant bias, as it conflates the treatment effect with existing cultural, economic, and behavioral differences between countries. To accurately measure the impact of features built on social connectivity, organizations must account for network interference that violates standard statistical assumptions. When cluster randomization infrastructure is unavailable, data teams must carefully weigh the bias introduced by geographic testing against the interference inherent in user-level randomization.

Discord Patch Notes: December 5, 2024 (opens in new tab)

Discord’s latest update highlights the engineering team's ongoing efforts to enhance platform performance, reliability, and overall usability through iterative bug fixes. While the current set of improvements has been merged into the codebase, the series will briefly pause for a winter hiatus before resuming in February. In the interim, the team continues to prioritize community-driven feedback to guide their technical roadmap. ### Community Feedback and Bug Reporting * Discord utilizes the community-run r/DiscordApp subreddit to gather user reports on platform instability. * A Bimonthly Bug Megathread serves as the primary intake channel for the engineering team to identify and investigate new issues. * Users are encouraged to provide detailed descriptions of persistent bugs to assist in the "bug-squishing" process. ### Deployment and Publication Schedule * All technical fixes listed in the update have been committed and merged into the main repository. * Deployment follows a rolling release cycle, meaning specific patches may arrive on different platforms at slightly different times. * The Patch Notes series is entering a scheduled break for the winter season, with the next technical update slated for early February. ### Recommendation Users experiencing persistent issues should document them in the official Reddit megathread to ensure they are captured by the engineering team before the next development cycle begins in February.

November Staff Picks: When One Door Closes… (opens in new tab)

As 2024 draws to a close, the holiday season provides a prime opportunity for enthusiasts to share their passion for gaming with friends and family. This initiative brings together a mix of veteran and new contributors to discuss their current gaming habits and offer guidance to those entering the hobby. By focusing on accessible recommendations, the group aims to help "Level 1" gamers find a welcoming entry point into the community during the transition to 2025. ### Seasonal Gaming and Newcomer Support * The end-of-year holiday period is framed as a strategic time for social gaming and discovering new titles. * A primary objective of the discussion is to facilitate "game discovery" for individuals who may be unfamiliar with the current landscape. * The content focuses on bridging the gap between seasoned players and beginners, ensuring that newcomers have a clear path to start their journey. ### Contributor Panel and Perspectives * The discussion features returning contributors Emi and Tyler, alongside two new voices, Veronica and Carlos. * The panel provides a diverse range of perspectives by sharing what they are currently playing to provide real-world context for their suggestions. * Specific attention is given to curated recommendations designed specifically for "Level 1" gamers to reduce the barrier to entry for the hobby. This seasonal look at gaming encourages experienced players to act as mentors, using holiday gatherings as a platform to introduce well-vetted titles to those just starting out. For the best results, consider the specific interests of your "Level 1" audience when applying these panel recommendations to your own social circles.

Find Wumpus in the WEBTOON Universes & Be Rewarded with a Nitro Trial (opens in new tab)

Discord and WEBTOON have partnered for a cross-platform promotional event where users must locate the Discord mascot, Wumpus, hidden within the digital comic *School Bus Graveyard*. By participating in this interactive scavenger hunt through the WEBTOON mobile application, readers can earn a one-month trial of Discord Nitro. This campaign bridges the two platforms by incentivizing comic readership through gamified engagement and digital rewards. ### Scavenger Hunt Mechanics * Participants are required to download the WEBTOON mobile app and navigate to the first ten episodes of the *School Bus Graveyard* series. * The interactive challenge involves scanning comic panels for hidden sightings of Wumpus; once spotted, users must click on the character to "report" the location. * The system tracks unique sightings, requiring users to find the mascot twice to qualify for the promotional reward. ### Rewards and Redemption * Upon successfully reporting Wumpus twice, participants receive a one-month trial of Discord Nitro. * The Nitro trial is versatile, offering users the option to apply the premium subscription to their own account or gift the code to an eligible friend. * This promotion serves as a customer acquisition tool for Discord Nitro, targeting the overlapping demographics of comic readers and gamers. ### Event Duration and Deadlines * The collaboration is a time-sensitive event with a clear window for participation beginning December 4, 2024. * All scavenger hunt activities and reward claims must be completed by December 25, 2024. * The three-week duration encourages immediate engagement from the community before the holiday deadline. To take advantage of this offer, users should ensure they are logged into the WEBTOON app while reading to ensure their progress is tracked accurately. Given the limited timeframe, interested readers should complete the first ten episodes early to secure their Nitro trial before the December 25 cutoff.

How Discord Seamlessly Upgraded Millions of Users to 64-Bit Architecture (opens in new tab)

Discord is transitioning its Windows desktop application from a 32-bit to a 64-bit architecture to improve performance and long-term stability. While the 32-bit version originally allowed for universal compatibility across diverse hardware with a single build, the growing demands of the application frequently push against 32-bit memory limits. By migrating to 64-bit, Discord ensures it can leverage modern hardware more effectively and remain compatible with the evolving ecosystem of its underlying software libraries. ### Initial Strategy and Compatibility * Discord originally launched as a web app in 2015 before moving to the desktop using the Electron web wrapper. * The decision to build a 32-bit executable for Windows was based on portability, as it allowed the app to run on both 32-bit and 64-bit processors through Microsoft's backwards compatibility layers. * Using a single 32-bit version simplified development during the application’s early stages while ensuring it worked on the widest possible range of machines. ### Memory Addressing Challenges * While 32-bit applications generally use less memory than their 64-bit counterparts, they are subject to a hard restriction on total memory usage. * Even when running on a 64-bit machine, Discord has encountered these architectural limits, leading to performance errors and application crashes. * Moving to a 64-bit architecture is the industry-standard solution for overcoming these memory bottlenecks and providing a more stable environment for resource-intensive features like the In-Game Overlay. ### Ecosystem and Future-Proofing * Discord is built on various core libraries, including Electron and WebRTC, which have transitioned to 64-bit as their default architecture. * As 64-bit becomes the global standard, 32-bit versions of these libraries receive fewer refinements, bug fixes, and security updates. * Staying on 32-bit would expose users to potential inefficiencies and unaddressed bugs as the community of developers maintaining 32-bit dependencies continues to shrink. Adopting 64-bit architecture allows Discord to align with modern development standards, ensuring the application remains resilient and performant as its foundational technologies continue to advance.

Leveling Up Black Voices in Gaming (opens in new tab)

Discord is celebrating Black History Month 2025 by spotlighting the contributions of Black creators, developers, and communities within the gaming industry. Led by the Black and African American Movement (BAAM) Employee Resource Group, the initiative aims to foster inclusivity and recognize the profound impact of Black culture on gaming. Through these efforts, Discord highlights how diverse voices are essential to creating a more representative and welcoming global gaming landscape. **The BAAM ERG and Community Support** * The Black and African American Movement (BAAM) Employee Resource Group is driving this initiative by curating a selection of influential creators and innovators. * The focus spans the entire gaming spectrum, including competitive players, casual gamers, professional game developers, and community builders. * The initiative emphasizes the intersection of identity and representation, inviting the wider community to engage with experiences that honor the spectrum of Black involvement in tech and gaming. **Spotlighted Creators and Organizations** * Aurélia Durand: A French graphic artist who designed the event's header artwork, her work focuses on celebrating diversity, identity, and womanhood. * Black Girl Gamers: Founded by Jay-Ann Lopez, this organization advocates for diversity and inclusion while specifically amplifying the voices of Black women in the industry. * Brown Girl Gamer Code: Created by Brandii JaVia, this digital community supports women and femmes of color in both gaming and technology to ensure their stories and contributions are recognized. To support these efforts and help build more inclusive digital spaces, Discord encourages users to engage with these featured creators and explore professional opportunities through the company's career portal.

Come Build Where the World Plays (opens in new tab)

Discord is expanding its developer ecosystem by opening its Activities platform to all creators, allowing them to build interactive experiences directly within the app. By leveraging the new Embedded App SDK, developers can tap into Discord’s audience of 200 million monthly active users who already spend over 1.5 billion hours playing games on the platform. This move transforms Discord from a communication tool into a native distribution and monetization hub for games and social software. ### Expansion of Discord Activities * Discord is officially transitioning Activities from a limited feature to an open platform available to all developers. * The scope includes a wide range of interactive content, such as multiplayer games, music experiences, and collaborative tools. * The ecosystem now supports the full product lifecycle, including building, launching, native distribution, and integrated monetization. ### The Embedded App SDK * The Embedded App SDK provides the technical foundation for developers to integrate their applications natively into the Discord client. * It is designed to facilitate high-engagement experiences that benefit from Discord’s existing social infrastructure and discovery mechanisms. * Developers can use the SDK to ensure their apps are discoverable and accessible to users without requiring external downloads or third-party platforms. ### Strategic Growth and Monetization * Discord aims to capitalize on its massive gaming-centric user base, where over 90% of users are active gamers. * The platform provides a streamlined path for developers to monetize their creations natively, reducing friction for both creators and users. * The initiative focuses on creating a "hang out" environment where interactive apps are a core part of the social experience. By opening the Embedded App SDK to the public, Discord is positioning itself as a primary platform for social application development. Developers looking to reach a highly engaged, gaming-focused audience should prioritize integrating their tools and games into the Discord Activities ecosystem to benefit from native discovery and monetization.

How to Navigate Discord Using Only Your Keyboard (opens in new tab)

Discord is prioritizing platform accessibility by enhancing its keyboard navigation features to ensure a seamless experience regardless of a user's chosen input device. This initiative allows users to traverse the entire interface—from switching conversations to accessing specific tools—without ever needing a mouse or trackpad. By focusing on these tactile shortcuts, the platform aims to streamline the workflow for power users and those relying on assistive technology. ### Multi-Platform Accessibility Through Keyboard Inputs * Discord’s navigation system is designed to function across various platforms, ensuring that the experience remains consistent regardless of hardware. * The feature set eliminates the dependency on external peripherals like mice or trackpads, making the app fully functional via keyboard alone. * The system is optimized for speed, allowing users to "breeze through" high-volume conversations and complex server structures efficiently. ### Keyboard-First Workflow Integration * Keyboard navigation serves as a primary input method for users who prefer or require a hands-on-keys approach to digital communication. * The interface supports specific "tricks" and shortcuts that grant direct access to different features without navigating visual menus. * The navigation logic is built to handle deep application traversal, moving beyond simple typing to full-scale app management and discovery. Users looking to optimize their speed or reduce reliance on peripheral devices should explore Discord's dedicated keybinding menus. Adopting these shortcuts can significantly decrease the time spent switching between various social contexts and server environments within the application.

October Staff Picks: Monster Season (opens in new tab)

The blog post explores the common challenge of the "backlog monster," referencing the growing list of unplayed video games that many enthusiasts struggle to complete. It posits that the transition into the cooler autumn season provides the ideal atmosphere for players to finally confront and reduce these digital queues. ### Progress in Backlog Management * The narrative tracks the "monster slaying" efforts of recurring team members Emi and Alex as they work through their figurative piles of unplayed titles. * It frames the act of completing games as a seasonal activity, leveraging the "spooky season" vibes to motivate progress. ### New Perspectives and Recommendations * The post introduces two new contributors, Serena and Tyler, to provide fresh insights into the gaming landscape. * While the primary goal is backlog reduction, these new team members offer specific game recommendations that may paradoxically add new titles to a reader's collection. To successfully manage a gaming library, players should use the seasonal change as a catalyst to finish existing titles before integrating new recommendations from trusted community voices.