Latest news with #Quests
Engadget
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Engadget
Discord launches a virtual currency
Going on a quest to gather orbs sounds like a magical journey. Images of old-school Sierra adventure games come to mind. Well, bad news. In this case, it's a virtual currency earned by being a captive audience for advertisers on Discord. Welcome to 2025, baby! Currently in beta, Orbs are Discord's latest addition to its Quests. That's the company's system that lets advertisers launch interactive challenges. These can be things like watching promotional videos or playing games. You aren't watching an ad, silly. You're venturing out on a Video Quest!! Godspeed. If you choose to be a Quest test subject, you can spend your Orbs in several ways. Discord Nitro credits could be a popular redemption option. You can also trade Orbs for profile cosmetics and first-party shop items. Unfortunately, you can't exchange them for real money. Nor can you spend them anywhere outside of Discord. Before today, Quest advertisers were limited to offering their own rewards. However, they can still do that. The new virtual currency is merely another option. Orbs are launching in a limited beta, so you may not have access yet. They're also desktop-only (app and browser), at least for now. You can find Quests by heading to Discover > Quests on Discord. Once you have access to Orbs, you can claim them in the Direct Messages > Shop section.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Discord explores virtual rewards for its ad product as it prepares for a potential IPO
Discord announced on Wednesday that it's experimenting with a new virtual reward system aimed at encouraging more users to engage with its interactive ads. This new feature, called 'Orbs,' comes on the heels of the company preparing for a potential IPO. Users can earn Orbs by completing 'Quests,' Discord's ad format where advertisers incentivize users to watch product videos or play games by rewarding them with virtual items. The addition of Orbs gives users the chance to redeem exclusive digital items from Discord's Shop, including Nitro credits, profile badges, avatar decorations, profile effects, and items from main collections. It's clear that the goal of Orbs is to encourage more interaction with Quests as Discord seeks to demonstrate to partners that it can offer a scalable ad business. The company has reportedly discussed a possible IPO with investment bankers, per The New York Times. Last month, Peter Sellis, Discord's senior vice president of product, highlighted the success of Quests. He reported that, over the past year, more than 70 Quests achieved a 10% acceptance rate with millions of rewards earned, according to the company's internal data. Quests are located in the bottom left corner of the app on PC and gaming consoles. Plans are in place to expand Quests to mobile devices in June. The Orbs experiment may also entice users who don't have a subscription to try Nitro, as they can spend Orbs on credits instead of using a payment method. For instance, users need 1,400 Orbs to get three free days of Nitro, which typically costs $10 per month. Orbs is being rolled out to a small group of users and will soon expand globally. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
TechCrunch
6 days ago
- Business
- TechCrunch
Discord explores virtual rewards for its ad product as it prepares for a potential IPO
Discord announced on Wednesday that it's experimenting with a new virtual reward system aimed at encouraging more users to engage with its interactive ads. This new feature, called 'Orbs,' comes on the heels of the company preparing for a potential IPO. Users can earn Orbs by completing 'Quests,' Discord's ad format where advertisers incentivize users to watch product videos or play games by rewarding them with virtual items. The addition of Orbs gives users the chance to redeem exclusive digital items from Discord's Shop, including Nitro credits, profile badges, avatar decorations, profile effects, and items from main collections. It's clear that the goal of Orbs is to encourage more interaction with Quests as Discord seeks to demonstrate to partners that it can offer a scalable ad business. The company has reportedly discussed a possible IPO with investment bankers, per The New York Times. Image Credits:Discord Last month, Peter Sellis, Discord's senior vice president of product, highlighted the success of Quests. He reported that, over the past year, more than 70 Quests achieved a 10% acceptance rate with millions of rewards earned, according to the company's internal data. Quests are located in the bottom left corner of the app on PC and gaming consoles. Plans are in place to expand Quests to mobile devices in June. The Orbs experiment may also entice users who don't have a subscription to try Nitro, as they can spend Orbs on credits instead of using a payment method. For instance, users need 1,400 Orbs to get three free days of Nitro, which typically costs $10 per month. Orbs is being rolled out to a small group of users and will soon expand globally.
The Verge
6 days ago
- Business
- The Verge
Discord's new currency pays users to interact with ads
Discord is beta testing 'Discord Orbs,' a new in-app currency that can be redeemed for digital items, Discord SVP of product Peter Sellis announced in an email to The Verge. Users earn Orbs by completing the app's promotional Quests, Discord's initiative that rewards participants who interact with advertiser content like videos or stream specific games to friends. In addition to spending Orbs on regular items on the Discord Shop, users can exchange the digital tokens for Orb exclusives like special badges or 3-day passes to try out Discord's subscription service, Discord Nitro. Discord says Orbs are rolling out globally to a 'small number' of its users to start before a wider rollout. If you're part of the beta test for Orbs, you will get a notification like the one below. Before this, publishers or brands that offered Quests had to provide their own rewards — things like avatar decorations or in-game bonuses. They can still do that if they want, Discord spokesperson Bradley Sheets tells The Verge in an email; awarding Orbs is simply an alternative option.
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The Discord app is getting video ads in June
Discord is officially launching Quest ads on mobile and will start showing users videos in exchange for rewards starting in June 2025. The messaging service has been testing its advertising experience called "Quests" on mobile for a while now after they were officially launched on desktop a year ago. But next month, video Quests will become widely available on its mobile application. Discord frames the experience as as "a way for players to discover games and new content while earning rewards for playing, streaming, or watching videos." For advertisers, though, it's a way to get people to watch their trailers for new games, as well as video announcements for things like DLC drops. Some Quests even ask users to stream games to unlock rewards, potentially gaining advertisers new players for their titles. Discord says companies have used the format for advertising campaigns for some of the most recognizable video game franchises out there, including Diablo, Street Fighter, World of Warcraft and Genshin Impact. Other non-video game companies have also used the format, so you can expect movie trailers and other kinds of video announcements, as well. Max, for instance, made users watch a trailer of Dune: Prophecy before it premiered. Like on desktop, users will get a notification when a Quest is available, and they can choose to accept it to perform the task that it requires.
