Bulletins

Microsoft and Discord's acquisition talks fall through

Instead, Discord has resumed plans for a potential initial public offering.

Microsoft and Discord's acquisition talks fall through

The WSJ says Discord received offers from at least three companies.

Photo: Fabian Sommer/picture alliance via Getty Images

Discord won't be selling itself to Microsoft, or any tech giant for that matter, anytime soon, reports The Wall Street Journal. The social app, which has blossomed from a gaming-centric chat tool into a platform of fast-growing communities across a variety of interest areas, has ended talks with various interested parties, the report states.

Instead, Discord has resumed plans for a potential initial public offering at some point in the future, due in part to its confidence in future growth and its current product roadmap. (Discord launched a Clubhouse competitor, Stage Channels, just a few weeks ago.)

The WSJ says Discord received offers from at least three companies, and its talks with the Xbox owner about a potential sale for more than $10 billion became widely known late last month. The San Francisco-based company launched its product in 2015 and has raised nearly $500 million from investors, with its latest funding round of $100 million last December valuing Discord at $7 billion.

Nick Statt

Nick Statt is Protocol's video game reporter. Prior to joining Protocol, he was news editor at The Verge covering the gaming industry, mobile apps and antitrust out of San Francisco, in addition to managing coverage of Silicon Valley tech giants and startups. He now resides in Rochester, New York, home of the garbage plate and, completely coincidentally, the World Video Game Hall of Fame. He can be reached at nstatt@protocol.com.

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