Discord is Coming to Your Favorite Games: Here’s What You Need to Know!

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Summary

  • Discord Social SDK allows developers to integrate Discord features within games, enhancing user experience.
  • The toolkit offers additional features like a unified friends list, game invites, and cross-platform messaging.
  • Discord is currently beta testing more features like Linked Channels and Voice Chat, with select developers already using the SDK.

Gamers could soon see Discord popping up within the games they’re playing. A new Discord Social SDK is being deployed that will allow developers to use Discord’s messaging infrastructure and integrate the Discord experience within game titles.

Discord is an extremely popular piece of software, with gamers and non-gamers alike flocking to it for its messaging abilities. Users can text chat, voice chat, stream, share their screen with others, and more, making it a common choice for staying in touch with friends in and outside games. However, if it were available within games inherently, chances are Discord use would rise even further.

Now, Discord has announced that the Discord Social SDK toolkit is available to developers, which devs can use to integrate Discord into games. Discord says that it won’t be mandatory for gamers to have a Discord account to use the tools in-game, but those who do have one can use additional features like a unified friends list across the mobile, PC, and in-game versions of Discord, plus convenient game invites, and integrated rich presence, which allows users to show their friends what they’re playing.

Discord SDK Has More Features In the Works

While the aforementioned features can be used by any game developer that utilizes the new Discord SDK, there are some additional Discord features still in beta testing. Discord is currently beta testing cross-platform messaging, so users can communicate with in-game friends even when they’re outside of the game, and vice versa. Linked Channels will allow users to integrate in-game chat into a Discord channel, so those who aren’t actively playing it can still see it and participate. Lastly, Discord is also allowing select developers to test its Voice Chat. So far, developers like Facepunch Studios, Theorycraft Games, Tencent Games, and Scopely are using Discord Social SDK. Discord also notes that the SDK is compatible with Unreal Engine, Unity, Windows 11, MacOS, and that console and mobile support are in development.

It will be interesting to see how Discord’s efforts pan out for both it and the developers utilizing it. There are a lot of potential Discord user benefits, as well as developer benefits, as developers can potentially focus on other elements of their game, and save effort on creating their own communication, friend list, and voice chat systems. However, many gamers are already using integrated friend lists and chat systems in their favorite games or their associated launchers. Only time will tell whether using Discord inside games becomes a widely adopted new normal.

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2025-03-18 03:31