Discord Reportedly Ends Acquisition Talks with Microsoft

One of the biggest acquisitions that Microsoft was said to be looking into this year was in regards to Discord, the messaging application that is perhaps used most by video game players around the world. A little over a month ago, Microsoft was said to be approaching a deal with Discord which would see the mega-corporation purchasing the company for somewhere in the range of $10 billion. Now, this deal is said to have pushed to the side for the time being.

According to a new report from Bloomberg, Discord has denied offers from companies such as Amazon, Epic Games, and Microsoft and is instead going to remain independent for the time being. A subsequent report from The Wall Street Journal notes that a deal of some sort could still come about in the future, although nothing seems to be guaranteed at this time.

Moving forward, however, Discord seems to be more interested in going public to perhaps generate more capital. The platform presently boasts close to 150 million users and brought in well over $130 million in 2020. Despite all of this, however, the company still isn't one that is able to generate a profit. Making it a publicly-traded operation would ensure that more money would flow inward.

From the perspective of Microsoft, this surely has to be a bit of a letdown. The tech giant has now struck out within the past year when it comes to acquisitions of both TikTok and Discord. When looking at Discord's perspective, however, it seems to make a bit more sense to stay independent for the time being. This move is one that gives the company more flexibility and will allow it to keep expanding in new ways. Although it's not known what Microsoft would have done with Discord had the purchase gone through, it stands to reason that Discord's potential reach over time could have diminished.

So what do you think about all of this? Do you want Discord to remain independent or do you think the company's messaging platform could have gotten even better under Microsoft? Let me know your thoughts either down in the comments or over on Twitter at @MooreMan12.

[H/T The Verge]