Latest news with #virtualrewards
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Discord Launches Orbs Globally: New Virtual Rewards Transform Brand Interactions into More Player Benefits
Players worldwide can now earn Orbs to redeem for exclusive perks like Nitro credits, avatar decorations, profile effects and badges, and more SAN FRANCISCO, July 14, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Discord announces the global launch of Orbs, a new virtual reward players can earn by completing Quests – the platform's opt-in reward-based advertising experience. This milestone launch marks the next evolution of Discord's advertising offering, which invites players to engage with brands through actions that fit authentically within their gaming experience. Orbs opens opportunities for more premium experiences on Discord for all users by offering access to the Shop and Discord Nitro without a monetary commitment. Users can redeem Orbs in the Shop for new, Orbs-exclusive items like Nitro credits – a limited time access version of Discord's premium subscription that offers enhanced streaming and customization features – as well as a unique profile badge, and a matching profile effect and avatar decoration. Beyond these exclusives, Orbs also provides an alternative path to obtain many popular Shop collections without spending money. Developed based on feedback from Discord's most dedicated users, Orbs is a feature that reflects Discord's user-first approach to building products and advertising solutions. A recent survey of Discord users revealed that 82% of respondents said they would want to earn a virtual currency on Discord with 46% saying that a virtual currency would improve their experience on the platform [Source: Discord user survey, September 2024]. During its recent beta, millions of Orbs were earned and redeemed over the seven-week pilot, driving a 16x increase in first-time Shop purchasers with 79% first-time Shop buyers. For advertisers, Orbs make campaign launches even easier – advertisers no longer need to create their own reward or wonder if their reward will resonate with their target audience. "By rewarding players with something they value, Discord is giving brands the ability to create an advertising experience that feels like gameplay," said Peter Sellis, Senior Vice President of Product at Discord. "Our focus is solely on creating the most authentic, player-centric advertising platform in the galaxy. With the launch of Orbs, we're helping brands drive discovery and engagement in a way that feels natural to how people already use Discord." Since launching its advertising program one year ago, Discord is scaling its advertising business with a deliberate, user-first approach to offer more authentic experiences for players with its reward-based ad solution, Quests, while also unlocking opportunities for advertisers to tap into the massive and uniquely engaged audience on the platform. Quests make brands feel like they're "part of the mission" rather than an interruption. In fact, more than 50% of users who have seen or interacted with a Quest in the past month say that Quests improve their experience on Discord with players even proactively seeking out new Quests to complete. [Source: 2025 Discord internal survey of ~1,000 Quests users]. Orbs are now available to Discord's more than 200 million monthly active users. Discord will continue to look for ways to expand how users can redeem Orbs and offer Nitro subscribers more compelling rewards and deals across the ecosystem. About DiscordDiscord is the communications platform that enables you to build meaningful connections around the joy of playing games through voice, video and text features. As the only communications platform purposely built for people who play multiplayer games, Discord has a highly engaged community of +200 million monthly active users who spend a combined 1.5 billion hours playing games each month across thousands of game titles on PC alone. Headquartered in San Francisco, Discord is free to download at with an optional subscription offering called Nitro that offers enhanced streaming and customization features. For more information, please contact: press@ View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Discord Inc. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Discord's virtual reward, ‘Orbs,' launches out of beta
After announcing in late May that the platform would be experimenting with a new virtual reward system, Discord is now launching it to the public. The aim of the rewards, called Orbs, is to get people to click on more interactive ads. Users earn Orbs after completing Quests, which involve interacting with ads for products or games to get virtual items. Users can redeem Orbs for digital items in Discord's Shop, like a three-day Nitro credit, an Orb-themed profile badge, profile effects, avatar decorations, and more. According to Discord, Orbs have been popular among testers, with millions earned and spent during the seven-week beta period. Other company data shows that there was a 16-fold increase in first-time purchases in the Shop, with 79% of participants having never bought anything before. Discord is said to be considering an IPO and is looking to show potential partners that it can maintain a scalable ad model. Discord is marketing Orbs to advertisers as a simpler way to launch Quest campaigns without needing to create their own rewards. The Orbs experiment is also likely meant to attract users who do not have a subscription to try Nitro, as they can use Orbs to purchase credits. However, it's unclear whether there was an increase in subscriptions. The company didn't respond to a request for comment, but it did mention that 70% of Orbs participants were nonmembers.
TechCrunch
3 days ago
- Business
- TechCrunch
Discord's virtual reward, ‘Orbs,' launches out of beta
After announcing in late May that the platform would be experimenting with a new virtual reward system, Discord is now launching it to the public. The aim of the rewards, called Orbs, is to get people to click on more interactive ads. Users earn Orbs after completing Quests, which involve interacting with ads for products or games to get virtual items. Users can redeem Orbs for digital items in Discord's Shop, like a three-day Nitro credit, an Orb-themed profile badge, profile effects, avatar decorations, and more. According to Discord, Orbs have been popular among testers, with millions earned and spent during the seven-week beta period. Other company data shows that there was a 16-fold increase in first-time purchases in the Shop, with 79% of participants having never bought anything before. Discord is said to be considering an IPO and is looking to show potential partners that it can maintain a scalable ad model. Discord is marketing Orbs to advertisers as a simpler way to launch Quest campaigns without needing to create their own rewards. The Orbs experiment is also likely meant to attract users who do not have a subscription to try Nitro, as they can use Orbs to purchase credits. However, it's unclear whether there was an increase in subscriptions. The company didn't respond to a request for comment, but it did mention that 70% of Orbs participants were nonmembers.
