Microsoft Considers $10B Xbox Maker Discord Buy

Microsoft is in talks to buy messaging platform Discord for more than US$10 billion, Bloomberg News reported.

Discord has reached out to potential buyers and Microsoft is one of them, according to the report which cited people familiar with the matter. One person said it was more likely to go public than sell itself.

Discord, which is valued at around US$7 billion as of last December, is a platform on which users coordinate group activities such as games, discussions, and even virtual parties.

The Xbox maker has been seeking to strengthen its video game offerings with US$7.5 billion acquisition of ZeniMax Media last year, its biggest gaming acquisition ever.

The COVID-19 pandemic has boosted the prospects of gaming companies as people stayed at home and turned to video games for entertainment during lockdowns.

With its strong gaming business, Microsoft has also been looking to own mass social media platforms. Its last big social media deal was the US$26.2 billion acquisition of LinkedIn in 2016, while it failed in its bid for short video app TikTok’s US assets in September last year.