discord-activities

3 posts

discord

Discord Update: June 30, 2025 Changelog (opens in new tab)

Discord’s latest updates focus on enhancing user expression and streamlining platform navigation through a series of identity-driven features and technical refinements. By introducing Server Tags and expanding profile customization options, the platform aims to deepen community connections while simultaneously optimizing back-end processes like image compression and search algorithms. These changes reflect an ongoing effort to balance aesthetic personalization with functional performance for both individual users and server administrators. ### Server Tags and Community Visibility * Users can now display Server Tags next to their names to represent specific communities or favorite games. * These tags are interactive, allowing others to click them to learn about the server or apply for membership directly from the tag. * Server administrators can unlock this feature for their community once the server reaches three Boosts. ### Profile Customization and Asset Management * The desktop client now saves the last six used avatars in Profile Settings, enabling users to swap back to previous images without re-uploading files. * Nitro members gain extended access to Quest-earned Avatar Decorations, allowing them to keep these rewards beyond the standard two-month expiration period. * New Nameplate designs have been added to the Shop on the desktop app to further customize user presence in chat lists. ### Integrated Activities and Syntax Enhancements * The New York Times Games’ Wordle is now available as a Discord Activity, accessible by typing the `/wordle` command in any text channel. * Players can use the `/share` command to distribute their results across different channels or direct messages. * New Markdown support for email addresses allows users to wrap an address in brackets (e.g., `<email@address.com>`) to create a clickable link that opens a mail client automatically. ### Performance and Infrastructure Optimizations * The Quick Switcher tool received an algorithmic upgrade to improve the accuracy of channel and DM suggestions based on user behavior. * Mobile image embeds have been improved through a change in how the mobile application handles image compression, resulting in higher-quality renders. * The updated mobile image pipeline also reduces the time required for uploading and rendering images on handheld devices. ### Advanced Server Boosting Features * Beyond Server Tags, communities with sufficient boosts can now access Enhanced Role Styles, which add glowing gradients to specific server roles. * These aesthetic upgrades are designed to provide more visual hierarchy and flair to server member lists. To make the most of these updates, server owners should coordinate community boosts to unlock the new Role Styles and Server Tags, while power users should adopt the Quick Switcher and new Markdown syntax to increase their communication efficiency.

discord

Discord Update: September 26, 2024 Changelog (opens in new tab)

Discord’s September 2024 update centers on transforming the platform into a more interactive entertainment hub while significantly hardening its security infrastructure. By centralizing third-party integrations through a new App Launcher and implementing end-to-end encryption for audio and video, the platform aims to balance expanded developer functionality with robust user privacy. ### The App Launcher and Interactive Activities * The newly launched App Launcher is now available across desktop and mobile, allowing users to search, browse curated collections, and add thousands of apps directly to their accounts for use in chats and voice calls. * Four new Activities have been integrated: *Arena Kingdoms* for cross-server battles, *Echo Chess* for daily puzzles, the Viking-themed *Battletabs*, and the social-focused *Magic Circle*. * New image-editing capabilities allow users to hover over chat images to access the App Launcher for quick modifications, such as adding captions or using Viggle’s “Animate” command to generate motion from static photos. * The developer ecosystem has been expanded to allow third parties to build, launch, and monetize their own Activities, with options to opt-in to platform-wide discovery via the launcher. ### Security and Privacy Enhancements * End-to-End Encryption (E2EE) is being introduced for all audio and video communication, including DMs, Group DMs, voice channels, and Go Live streams, ensuring that stream data is accessible only to participants. * Support for Passkeys has been implemented, allowing users to replace traditional passwords with biometric authentication such as Face ID or Touch ID. * Passkey technology remains localized to the user's device, ensuring that Discord does not have access to sensitive biometric data. ### Platform Performance and Community Resources * Discord’s engineering team reported a significant performance milestone, reducing iOS application crashes by 84%. * The "Discord Dojo" initiative has launched to provide educational content, including videos and blogs focused on message formatting and advanced keybinds for power users. * A new partnership with *Street Fighter 6* introduces themed shop items and a specific Quest that rewards users with a "Battle Field" decoration for their profiles. To maintain the highest level of account safety, users should consider migrating to Passkeys and verifying the encryption status during their next voice or video call. For those looking to increase engagement within their servers, the App Launcher provides a low-friction way to introduce collaborative games and media tools directly into existing conversations.

discord

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

Discord is opening its Activities platform to all developers, enabling them to build, distribute, and monetize games and interactive experiences directly within Discord. The company argues that Discord’s social communities, voice channels, and existing gaming audience create a powerful environment for discovery and rapid product feedback. Early examples suggest Activities can achieve substantial engagement by combining gameplay with native social interaction. ## Discord as a Platform for Social Gameplay - More than 90% of Discord’s 200 million monthly users play games, generating over 1.5 billion hours of gameplay each month. - The Embedded App SDK lets developers create games, music experiences, and other interactive Activities that run inside Discord. - Discord’s servers and voice calls allow friends to launch lightweight games together without leaving conversations. - The platform supports both playing with existing friends and forming new social connections. - Developers are exploring ideas such as: - Games that support collaboration across different schedules and time zones - Bots and memes integrated directly into conversations - Generative AI combined with built-in social communication ## Faster Feedback and Product Development - Tens of thousands of developers adopted the Embedded App SDK during its developer preview. - Building on Discord gives developers access to an active, game-oriented audience and immediate user feedback. - Developers can observe how people interact with their products and quickly adjust features, languages, content, and monetization. - Playroom’s *Death by AI* used Discord feedback to: - Add features and fixes - Expand support to more than 10 languages - Introduce AI voices and new prompt packs - Implement in-app purchases - The game reached nearly 7 million players and more than 1 million hours of gameplay within weeks. ## Easier Discovery and Engagement - Developers can now submit Activities for verification through the Discord Developer Portal and opt into discovery. - Discoverable Activities can appear in: - Discord’s App Launcher - Text and voice channels - Rich embeds shared with friends - Users can launch an Activity from a conversation and invite others to join. - Native rich presence allows Activities to appear in server member lists and user profiles. - Recommendations and visible friend activity help games spread organically. - Discord reports that these improvements have contributed to approximately 1 million additional game launch days per month. Discord’s recommendation to developers is clear: build social, easily accessible experiences that take advantage of Discord’s existing communities and communication features. By opening Activities broadly, the company aims to make Discord a complete platform for discovering, playing, and growing interactive games.