Discord is looking to supply games directly to its users. The company announced today that it’s rolling out a store beta to 50,000 Canadian users, who will be selected from the platform’s Nitro subscribers at random. Its launch lineup includes Saints Row: The Third, Metro: Last Light Redux, Super Meat Boy, Hollow Knight, and Starbound.
Discord’s game offerings will be curated by employees with the goal of creating a “local bookstore” vibe of hand-picked choices. The company also plans to introduce “First on Discord” titles, indie games exclusive to the platform for 90 days, as well as a universal library. This feature will allow Discord users to pull games from their computers and launch them directly from Discord, regardless of whether or not it requires another launcher.
its store will be driven “by friendships and playing together”
Discord may not be ready to rival behemoths like Steam just yet, but CMO Eros Resmini tells The Verge that its store will be driven “more by friendships and playing together than what is currently available in the ecosystem.” Discord users will be able to play along with friends who own the same games, regardless of where they purchased it. “Our goal with Discord is to bring players together — never to fragment or add friction to gaming with friends,” he says.
“Discord has become a home for many gamers who use it to connect with friends multiple times a day — some people seem to live on Discord,” he says. “With 150 million registered users that’s a lot of building friendships while talking about and playing games together.”
Users with a Nitro subscription, which is available for $4.99 a month or $49.99 a year, will have access to a different library of games curated by Discord. All users, however, will be able to purchase games from the store.