Discord Coming to PS5, Sony Invests in App's Stocks
Discord and Sony are teaming up. The popular messenger is to be integrated with PlayStation Network, making it easier for gamers to communicate. Sony has acquired Discord's shares, but the company will remain independent.
On Monday, Sony Interactive Entertainment announced that it has entered into a partnership with Discord and purchased a stake in the company. New communication options for the PlayStation Network are expected to arrive in early 2022.
Sony Interactive Entertainment's CEO Jim Ryan stresses that the goal of this partnership is to make it easier for friends and groups to communicate and spend time together while playing video games. However, the statement is very general and we do not know the details of the agreement.
The distant launch date and Sony buying shares suggest that this won't simply be a console app offered as an alternative to existing solutions. Devin Coldewey of TechCrunch speculates that Discord will be integrated into the system in the form of an option like "Start a voice chat on Discord" when inviting friends to play together.
Discord has been looking for a place for itself for some time now. Microsoft, Twitter, Epic Games and Amazon, among others, were said to be interested in the acquisition. The Redmond diant seemed to be closest to finalizing the deal, the company being ready to put as much as 12 billion dollars on the table even. However, talks were broken off, and the owners of Discord chose independence.
Sony reacted very quickly, announcing its cooperation just two weeks after the bitter end of negotiations with Microsoft.
