Discord

Microsoft has just spent $7.5 billion to bring ZeniMax Media (and thus, Bethesda) into its first party network of game studios. That's an eye-watering sum, and you'd think would leave the corporation's pockets feeling a little lighter than usual. Well, according to a new report from Bloomberg, it's looking to splash even more cash, and this time, the target is Discord.

The report, sourcing "people familiar with the matter", says Microsoft is in talks to acquire the immensely popular online chat platform for "more than $10 billion". The report is corroborated by a similar story from VentureBeat, which states Discord is "exploring its options" for acquisition after several parties showed interest — one of which being Microsoft, of course.

The chat service was founded in 2015 and has quickly become the place to talk online with friends, particularly for gaming groups. It attracts more than 100 million users a month, and is apparently looking to expand its reach and appeal to a wider audience. For Microsoft, ownership of such a popular service would be big for Xbox and the larger company. Bloomberg analyst Matthew Kanterman explains the acquisition would make sense "as it continues to reshape its gaming business more toward software and services", suggesting Discord's premium subscription Nitro could become part of Game Pass.

Apparently, other companies interested in acquiring the platform include Epic Games and Amazon.

For now, there's no official word on any of this, but it does seem like a feasible deal from where we're sitting. What do you think about this report? Is Microsoft going to buy up Discord? Would it matter? Would it affect PlayStation at all? Discuss in the comments section below.

[source bloomberg.com, via videogameschronicle.com, venturebeat.com]