Discord is getting mobile ads
Discord is bringing third-party ads to its mobile platform. The gaming-focused voice and chat app announced that a mobile pilot for Video Quests — ads that allow Discord users to earn rewards like avatar decorations and in-game items by watching a video — will launch in June 2025, after rolling out on PC and consoles last year.
“Expanding our advertising platform to mobile is an obvious, natural evolution in our strategy,” said Discord’s product leader, Peter Sellis. “Our mission is to create the most authentic, player-centric advertising platform in the galaxy. This expansion will provide brand partners access to Discord’s highly engaged, cross-platform mobile audience — and create new opportunities for businesses to connect with our community in meaningful, and performant, ways.”
The new mobile ads don’t seem particularly intrusive — they will appear as a “Quest bar” at the bottom of the screen, which can be dismissed or tapped on to open the dedicated Quest tab. The full-screen videos will only then play if a user chooses to accept the Quest.
Discord already allows users on other platforms to hide in-app promotions for specific Quests, or opt out of personalized promotions. These options will also be available for mobile users.
Video Quests are one of two Quest formats that Discord launched last year, the other being Play Quests, which reward players for completing in-game tasks. Discord had gained a reputation for being an ad-free platform prior to introducing Quests, having instead relied on user subscriptions to bring in revenue. Mobile Quest ads were already being tested in a limited beta, but this rollout suggests they will now start appearing more broadly.
The announcement of mobile ads comes amid rumors that Discord is preparing to launch an initial public offering. The company was last valued at roughly $15 billion by private investors in 2021, and had reportedly discussed a $10 billion acquisition deal with Microsoft that same year that ultimately didn’t materialize anything.
Update, March 20th: added confirmation about ad settings for mobile users.