Discord says no deal to Microsoft, will reportedly remain independent

By Sean Endicott
last updated

According to a new report, Discord won't be purchased by Microsoft or any other company at this time.

Discord Windows Lede 1
Discord Windows Lede 1 (Image credit: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central)

What you need to know

  • A new report states Discord has ended talks with Microsoft regarding a potential acquisition.
  • It is said that Microsoft was in advanced talks to purchase Discord for at least $10 billion.
  • Discord reportedly listened to offers from at least three companies but decided to remain independent.

Discord will not sell itself to Microsoft or any other company at this time, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal. Instead, Discord may look into becoming a public company at some point in the future. At least for now, it appears Discord will remain independent.

Earlier reports indicated that Microsoft was in advanced talks to purchase Discord for at least $10 billion, but those talks have seemingly halted. The WSJ notes that Discord fielded offers from at least three companies but ultimately decided to remain independent. It's also mentioned that while the talks between Microsoft and Discord ended without a deal, they could be rekindled in the future.

Back when rumors first emerged about a possible purchase of Discord by Microsoft, our senior editor Jez Corden said that "Microsoft can't let this one slip away." If the latest reports are accurate, it seems Microsoft may have let exactly that happen. It's worth noting, however, that Microsoft doesn't seem to have lost out on this deal to another tech giant. Instead, Discord appears to want to stay independent.

Even though Microsoft seemingly didn't lose Discord to a direct competitor, the loss will likely sting for the company. Corden's points regarding Microsoft messaging services being bad, Microsoft struggling in the social space, and the fact that Discord would help solve these issues all remain valid.

This is a breaking story. We will update it as more information becomes available.

Sean Endicott
Sean Endicott
News Writer and apps editor

Sean Endicott brings nearly a decade of experience covering Microsoft and Windows news to Windows Central. He joined our team in 2017 as an app reviewer and now heads up our day-to-day news coverage. If you have a news tip or an app to review, hit him up at sean.endicott@futurenet.com (opens in new tab).

15 Comments
  • The only reason they did this is for a future IPO. Who wants to bet me?
  • I think that's the only logical conclusion here, too.
  • I will, I bet you 10 dogecoin 😎 But in all reality it doesn't surprise me if it's done to try to gauge their value.
  • well that's sucks
  • Oh Well, more money to make more game dev acquisitions. They should snatch up Remedy or Rock Steady
  • Nothing will kill off Discord faster than them getting an IPO, then needing profits so badly that they start injecting the service with ads and selling off user data. It might soon be time to move over to Guilded.
  • Not saying you are wrong but that's quite a bit of projection.
  • Sounds accurate though... I mean, look at how other companies do it/have done it.
  • Microsoft doesn't sell user data like Google.
  • What does that have to do with this?
  • Take the $10B, Discord. That was a crazy amount of money. The next offer, many years from now, will be substantially less.
    And from IBM. After it's all over and the cool kids have moved on. Microsoft could make a competitor anytime they want. They are a sizable software company after all.
    If you choose to take the Slack path, you'll suffer the same fate as Slack.
  • >Microsoft could make a competitor anytime they want. doubt. big doubt.
  • Xbox have Game/Privet group community page. ( Make it possible to have rooms like DC.)
    They have chat system.
    They have voice system ( Needs a big boost but the same quality that DC have for free )
    Screen share Microsoft already have in other software. ( A feature some love with DC.)
    And the rest of Xbox like achievements and so on. Just merge all and give it a fresh and clean ui and some Xbox benefits and I think that's a good start without spending 10 billions. I think Microsoft can create a stronger and better community platform. Just don't do a mixer and waste lots of millions to buy users and let the community come to you, if a group off users love the system it will grow. Maybe try aim for TeamSpeak or something that's semi big in gaming and merge everything to it to get a good voip system.
  • Microsoft needs to put more resources into GroupMe.
  • It's on that if no one no wants make efforts.
    10 Billions $, it's not enough.
    For your independence, way of development or way or dividends ?