discord·Dec 1, 2025·3 min readCurated summary

Bringing In-Game Commerce to Discord Communities

Discord is introducing in-game commerce directly inside gaming communities, beginning with *Marvel Rivals*. Players can browse, purchase, wishlist, and gift cosmetics through Discord, while developers gain a social distribution channel beyond their existing storefronts. The company presents the launch as an initial experiment that will inform broader platform, regional, and developer support. ## Building on Discord’s Commerce Experience - Discord says its Shop has demonstrated strong interest in socially driven purchases. - Nearly 20% of Shop purchases are gifts, increasing to almost 30% during holidays and seasonal events. - Features such as Wishlists and Nameplates have helped make commerce more integrated into everyday Discord interactions. - Official game communities give developers access to highly engaged players, including people who may not currently be playing. - Social discovery expands the potential customer base: friends can discover and purchase items from one another’s Wishlists, even if they do not play the game themselves. ## Marvel Rivals Launches In-Server Commerce - The initial rollout is taking place in the official *Marvel Rivals* Discord server. - More than 80% of *Marvel Rivals* players reportedly use Discord daily. - Players can: - Browse and buy cosmetics and bundles, including Costumes, Emotes, Emojis, MVPs, Nameplates, and Sprays. - Create Wishlists and view friends’ Wishlists. - Gift items through direct messages. - Send gifts even without playing *Marvel Rivals* themselves. - Access purchased items in-game through secure Discord account linking. - The launch coincides with the game’s first anniversary and the holiday gifting season. ## Connecting Discord and Game Accounts - *Marvel Rivals* has also integrated Discord-powered social features through Discord’s Social SDK. - Account linking keeps players connected across Discord and the game. - Discord reports that partners using these integrations have seen up to 36% more game days among linked players. - The broader Social SDK has previously been associated with playtime increases of up to 48%. ## Future Plans for Developers and Players - Discord describes the *Marvel Rivals* rollout as a learning phase. - Future work will focus on: - Gathering player and developer feedback. - Refining the commerce experience. - Exploring connections with other parts of Discord’s economy. - Expanding support to additional regions and platforms. - Bringing commerce capabilities to more game communities. - Discord frames the initiative as a way to create incremental revenue for developers while making it easier for players to discover, discuss, and celebrate games. Developers interested in adding commerce to their Discord communities can contact Discord’s business development team, while *Marvel Rivals* players can access the features through the game’s official server.

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MonetizationDiscordAccount LinkingDiscord Social Sdk+2

toss·Nov 6, 2025Original article

Creating the worst experience at Toss (opens in new tab)

Toss designer Lee Hyeon-jeong argues that business goals and user experience are not mutually exclusive, even when integrating controversial elements like advertising. By identifying the intersection between monetization and usability, her team transformed intrusive ads into value-driven features that maintain user trust while driving significant revenue. The ultimate conclusion is that transparency and appropriate rewards can mitigate negative feedback and even increase user engagement. ### Reducing Friction through Predictability and Placement * Addressed "surprise" ads by introducing clear labeling, such as "Watch Ad" buttons or specifying ad durations (e.g., "30-second ad"), which reduced negative sentiment without decreasing revenue. * Discovered that when users are given a choice and clear expectations, their anxiety decreases and their willingness to engage with the content increases. * Eliminated "flow-breaking" ads that mimicked functional UI elements, such as banners placed inside transaction histories that users frequently mistook for personal bank records. * Established a design principle to place advertisements only in areas that do not interfere with information discovery or core user navigation tasks. ### Transforming Advertisements into User Benefits * Developed a dedicated B2B ad platform to scale the variety of available advertisements, ensuring that users receive ads relevant to their specific life stages, such as car insurance or new credit cards. * Shifted the internal perception of ads from "noise" to "benefits" by focusing on the right timing and high-quality matching between the advertiser and the user's needs. * Institutionalized regular "creative ideation sessions" to explore interactive formats, including advertisements that respond to phone movement (gyroscope), quizzes, and mini-games. * Leveraged long-term internal experiments to ensure that even if an idea cannot be implemented immediately, it remains in the team's "creative bank" for future product opportunities. ### Optimizing Value Exchange through Rewards * Conducted over a year of A/B testing on reward thresholds, comparing small cash amounts (1 KRW to 200 KRW), non-monetary items (gifticons), and high-stakes lottery-style prizes. * Analyzed the "labor intensity" of ads by adjusting lengths (10 to 30 seconds) to find the psychological tipping point where users felt the reward was worth their time. * Implemented a high-value lottery system within the Toss Pedometer service, which successfully transitioned a loss-making feature into a profitable revenue stream. * Maintained user activity and satisfaction levels despite the increased presence of ads by ensuring the "worst-case experience"—viewing ads for no gain—was entirely avoided. Product teams should stop viewing business requirements and UX as a zero-sum game. By focusing on user psychology—specifically transparency, non-disruption, and fair value exchange—it is possible to achieve aggressive business targets while maintaining a sustainable and trusted user environment.

MonetizationUser ExperienceProduct DesignA B Testing+3

discord·Apr 22, 2025Original article

Discord Appoints Humam Sakhnini as Chief Executive Officer (opens in new tab)

Discord has appointed former Activision Blizzard executive Humam Sakhnini as its new CEO, effective April 28, 2025, marking a significant transition from founder-led management to veteran industry leadership. Co-founder Jason Citron will move into an advisory role while remaining on the Board of Directors, and co-founder Stanislav Vishnevskiy will continue his tenure as Chief Technology Officer. This leadership shift is designed to accelerate Discord’s commercial scaling and deepen its integration within the global gaming ecosystem. **Leadership Transition and Industry Pedigree** * Humam Sakhnini brings over 15 years of high-level gaming experience, having most recently served as Vice Chairman at Activision Blizzard. * Sakhnini previously led King Digital Entertainment as President, where he managed record-breaking performance for massive titles such as *Candy Crush*. * His expertise spans managing multi-billion dollar portfolios including *Call of Duty* and *World of Warcraft*, positioning him to lead Discord’s efforts in professionalizing its business operations. * Jason Citron’s transition to Advisor follows a decade of building the platform from its inception to a cornerstone of digital communication. **Market Position and Financial Momentum** * Discord currently hosts more than 200 million monthly active users who generate 2 billion hours of gameplay each month. * The company has reported five consecutive quarters of positive adjusted EBITDA, signaling a transition from venture-backed growth to financial sustainability. * The platform remains the primary social infrastructure for multiplayer gaming, supporting thousands of individual titles through voice, video, and text integration. **Strategic Evolution of Revenue Streams** * While the core business has historically relied on the Nitro subscription service, the company is now diversifying into advertising and micro-transactions. * A renewed focus on "gaming roots" involves providing social infrastructure directly to game developers to help them engage their communities. * The new leadership aims to capitalize on modern revenue creation and customer acquisition strategies to better monetize the platform’s massive engagement metrics. This leadership change indicates that Discord is moving into a "growth and monetization" phase, prioritizing industrial-scale operations over early-stage product discovery. For developers and partners, this likely means a more aggressive rollout of developer tools and collaborative features designed to bridge the gap between gameplay and community management.

MonetizationReal Time CommunicationVoipGaming Industry+2