Microsoft is teaming up with Discord, a voice and text chat app for gamers, to let them link up their accounts with Xbox Live profiles to share what games they are playing and more easily connect with friends.
The alliance means Xbox Live players can share what they’re playing on Discord and friends can see it and join them.
Discord boasts 14 million daily players using its platform, sending 315 million messages per day. Discord establishes itself as a competitor to Microsoft’s Skype on its website with the phrase “It’s time to ditch Skype and TeamSpeak.”
Gaming has become a much more social activity in recent years, and Microsoft has invested heavily in that part of the experience. With one of the major console makers under its umbrella in Xbox, Microsoft has been putting a lot of energy and new features into its streaming service Mixer. Mixer is integrated with Xbox and Windows 10, giving it a unique selling point in its quest to peel away players and fans from Amazon’s Twitch.
