Discord announced a new ad campaign management platform called Discord Ads Manager, designed to let companies handle their advertising on the service from a single dashboard. The tool includes forecasting, objective-based bidding, and campaign performance monitoring. While the platform is currently available only to select advertisers, Discord said self-service access will roll out to all businesses in early 2027, opening the door for smaller studios and marketers that previously needed a direct sales relationship.
The company also expanded its video ad product, renaming it Video Quests Reserve. These ads, which users can watch for in-game rewards, were previously tested in beta on browsers and limited mobile apps. Discord now describes the format as a premium, reservation-based offering for high-impact brand moments, giving advertisers a scalable way to drive impressions and clicks. Discord said the updated video ads and Ads Manager will lead to expanded user targeting, with additional advertiser objectives promised soon.
The advertising push is tied to Discord's confidential IPO filing from January, according to a Bloomberg report at the time. The company has historically relied on premium subscriptions and game sales, and ads are seen as a way to increase its value. Some users have expressed concern that ads and other recent changes, such as age verification and AI moderation, could alter the platform. Discord co-founder Stanislav Vishnevskiy acknowledged these worries, saying he frequently raises the issue of "enshittification" internally, but argued that building a strong business allows the company to reinvest and improve the product. So far, Discord's ads have been relatively unobtrusive, appearing as small pop-ups and clickable sidebars, but the company may face backlash if those formats become more aggressive.