On Monday, Discord unveiled its latest innovation: the Discord Social SDK. This free toolkit is designed to empower developers by leveraging the platform’s extensive social infrastructure, ultimately enhancing the social and multiplayer experiences within their games. With the introduction of this SDK, developers can significantly improve in-game experiences for players, regardless of whether they hold a Discord account.
The Discord Social SDK offers several innovative features aimed at improving connectivity among players. One standout feature is the unified friends list, allowing players to access their Discord friends while they are in-game, and vice versa. This seamless integration makes it easier for friends to stay connected both in and out of the gaming environment, fostering a more engaged community.
Another notable addition is the deep-linked game invites. This feature enables players to invite their friends to join their party or lobby directly, streamlining the multiplayer experience. Communication is further enhanced through cross-platform messaging, which allows players to continue conversations across various platforms, including desktop, console, and mobile devices.
Moreover, the Discord Social SDK allows developers to link in-game chats to specific Discord channels within their servers. This capability ensures that players can engage in meaningful discussions related to their gaming experiences. Additionally, integrated voice chat features provide an immersive communication option, enabling players to strategize and socialize while gaming.
According to Stan Vishnevskiy, co-founder and CTO of Discord, “For game creators from indie to AAA, Discord is where you can connect with the world’s largest and most engaged community of players to fuel the growth of your game before, during, and after launch.” He emphasized the importance of game discovery and retention, particularly in today’s competitive market, and expressed excitement about helping developers reach gamers effectively.
The Discord Social SDK is already in use by a variety of developers, including well-known studios such as Theorycraft Games, Facepunch Studios, 1047 Games, Scopely, Mainframe Industries, Elodie Games, and Tencent Games. Notably, the SDK is compatible with programming languages like C++ and popular game engines such as Unreal Engine and Unity. It is currently supported on Windows 11+ and macOS, with plans to extend compatibility to console and mobile platforms in the near future.
Discord boasts an impressive user base, with over 200 million monthly active users who collectively spend more than 1.5 billion hours playing games each month on PC alone. The launch of the Discord Social SDK is poised to further enrich this vibrant community, offering developers the tools they need to create engaging social experiences that resonate with gamers worldwide.
