Discord announced the launch of its Discord Social SDK on Monday, a free toolkit that aims to improve social and multiplayer experiences within games. The SDK allows developers to tap into Discord’s vast social infrastructure, offering game players a seamless experience, whether or not they have a Discord account.
The SDK’s social integrations include a unified friends list, enabling players to access both their in-game and Discord friends. This makes it easier to stay connected, whether players are in the game or outside it. The toolkit also features deep-linked game invites, allowing players to invite friends directly to join their party or lobby.
Communication Features to Foster Connectivity Across Platforms
Discord’s new toolkit enhances communication across desktop, console, and mobile platforms by offering cross-platform messaging. Additionally, it enables linking in-game chats to specific Discord channels and facilitates voice chat to improve the social experience.
“Game discovery and retention have never been so critical, and we’re excited to help developers grow their games by reaching gamers where they are,” said Stan Vishnevskiy, co-founder and CTO of Discord. “For game creators from indie to AAA, Discord is where you can connect with the world’s largest and most engaged community of players to fuel the growth of your game before, during, and after launch.”
Discord’s Social SDK is compatible with C++, Unreal Engine, and Unity. It supports Windows 11+ and macOS, with console and mobile support coming soon. The toolkit is already being used by developers like Theorycraft Games, Facepunch Studios, 1047 Games, Scopely, Mainframe Industries, Elodie Games, Tencent Games, and others.
Discord boasts more than 200 million monthly active users who spend over 1.5 billion hours playing games each month on PC alone, making it a key platform for developers to engage with a wide gaming audience.
What The Author Thinks
Discord’s new toolkit offers an exciting opportunity for developers to create more connected, social gaming experiences. By integrating Discord’s platform, developers can enhance player engagement and retention by making it easier for users to stay connected with their friends. With the growing importance of multiplayer games, tools like the Discord Social SDK could become an essential asset for game creators, offering new ways to build strong communities around their titles.
Featured image credit: FMT
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