Microsoft reportedly in talks to acquire Discord for over $10 billion

Microsoft is in discussions to buy Discord for more than $ 10 billion, according to sources familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. 

First reported by VentureBeat on Monday, Discord has been going through a sales process that could result in an acquisition of the video-game chat platform for over $10 billion. According to the sources, Discord now is in discussions with Microsoft for a potential deal, but no deal is imminent. 

One source said that Discord is more likely to go public than sell itself. According to one person familiar with the matter, Discord first contacted Microsoft to gauge interest, and Xbox chief Phil Spencer has been talking to the company.

As part of its efforts to explore options for a sale, Discord has also held discussions with Epic Games and Amazon beforehand, two people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.

Within this month, the EU approved Microsoft’s Bethesda acquisition and Xbox announced that it added 20 games published by Bethesda to the Game Pass Cloud, its premium subscription service that lets players access video games across mobile, console, and PC. An acquisition of Discord would signal Microsoft’s willingness to keep investing in its video gaming business. 

Discord raised $140 million back in December at a $7B valuation, according to data found by Prime Unicorn Index. The video-game chat platform generated $45 million in revenue in 2019 which grew by 188.9% to $130 million in 2020 as people turned to social platforms more not to lose contact with family and friends during the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic.