Discord will soon be getting ads on the mobile app. Don’t worry, they won’t be as annoying as they are on other social media platforms.
According to a report from The Verge, the gaming-focused chat platform will be launching a pilot for Video Quests on mobile this summer. Video Quests are sponsored ads that Discord users can watch to earn rewards for their accounts, like in-game items and avatar decorations — things that usually cost money whether they have a Discord Nitro subscription or not.
The ads won’t show up at random moments like they do on other social media platforms such as Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. They’ll pop up as a Quest bar on the bottom of the screen and, should the Discord user choose to tap it in the dedicated Quest tab, will play a full-screen video. If they don’t want to watch ads as, they can dismiss them. It’s a similar method used in some mobile games like Candy Crush Jelly Saga, where players can choose to watch ads to regain moves when they’re close to beating a level.
Peter Sellis, Discord’s product leader, said the move to expand Video Quests to mobile is part of a strategy to appeal to gaming brand partners. Discord introduced Video Quests on PC last year, which caused some controversy among users who pride Discord on being one of the few ad-free platforms in tech.
“Expanding our advertising platform to mobile is an obvious, natural evolution in our strategy,” Sellis said. “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.”
Discord’s announcement of its expansion of Video Quests to mobile comes over two weeks after the company spoke with investment banks about launching an initial public offering (IPO). Discord is worth $15 billion as of 2021. The news also comes after it updated the platform with some impressive new features, including the ability for users to ignore certain users without their knowledge.
Discord will launch Video Quests on mobile June 2025.
Cristina Alexander is a gaming and mobile writer at Digital Trends. She blends fair coverage of games industry topics that…
Another detail leaks about the colorful Motorola Edge 60 Fusion
Motorola is expected to unveil new Edge phones soon. Recently, leaks about one of these devices, the Motorola Edge 60 Fusion, have started circulating. The latest tease comes from Flipkart (via GSMArena), which shows off a closeup of the device.
As you can see below, the Edge 60 Fusion is expected to have a curved display. That display will offer “true colors” that “hit different.”
Read more
Some might be waiting a little bit longer for Samsung’s One UI 7 update
Samsung is expected to release its highly anticipated One UI 7 update worldwide starting the week of April 7. However, there has been some debate about the exact timing and locations of the rollout. A new development has added to the confusion regarding the specific release dates.
According to SamMobile, Samsung has quietly pulled the One UI 7 launch date in the U.S. from its news portal. Subsequently, it also changed the language on its Australia Newsroom portal and perhaps others. Instead, it says the official rollout “will start from April.” At least for now, exact dates remain for news portals for South Korea, Canada, Norway, Sweden, Malaysia, Singapore, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
Read more
Android 16: everything you need to know
Android 16 has already reached the final stages of development and the final release is just a few weeks away. With this earlier-than-usual number update to Android, Google is focusing mostly on under-the-hood improvements and practical improvements.
While Android 15 focussed little on visual upgrades brought in privacy features, such as partial screen recording and Private Space. This year, too, Google doesn’t seem too keen to focus much on a radical aesthetic overhaul.
Read more
