• by Colin Kirkland , March 18, 2025

Discord -- a social-first messaging platform that has gained notoriety for its niche communities, especially around gaming -- has launched a software development kit (SDK) to help developers integrate the platform's social features directly into their games.

According to the company, developers are now able to power in-game communication and connectivity for all players at no cost, providing a more interactive experience and effectively driving more growth around their games.

Through Discord's Social SDK, developers can now utilize friends lists, as well as game invites that allow players with or without a Discord account to invite their friends to join their game party, cross-platform messaging and voice chat.

Account linking is also available for players who wish to connect their in-game experience to their Discord account.

Right now, the SDK is “compatible with C++, both Unreal Engine and Unity, and supports Windows 11+ and macOS,” according to Discord, which says that support for gaming consoles and mobile gaming is “coming soon.”

Early partners using the Social SDK include Theorycraft Games, Facepunch Studios,1047 Games, Scopely, Mainframe Industries, Elodie Games, Tencent Games and more.

Initially designed as a communication platform for gamers to communicate and come together via voice, video and text channels in 2015, Discord is now fusing its original purpose with its growing influence over competing social media companies.

Over the past decade, Discord has pushed the concept of online micro-communities into the larger social media landscape, influencing Meta to implement various community-focused features across its family of apps, like WhatsApp, Facebook and Messenger.

Just last week, Instagram announced its decision to onboard aspects of Discord's server format via a “Community Chat” feature that will allow Instagram users to organize groups of up to 250 people.

With over 200 million active users, Discord now attracts a more diverse user base outside of gaming and, now hosting ads, is reportedly in early talks with banks about a public listing.