Discord launches Nitro Rewards, giving subscribers access to the base tier of Xbox Game Pass for no extra cost

Discord on Monday unveiled Nitro Rewards, which gives Nitro subscribers access to offers from other gaming and lifestyle brands for no additional cost. 

Currently, Nitro offers upgrades to Discord itself, like more profile customization options, HD streaming, and the ability to upload files of up to 500 MB. The subscription is optional, as you can easily use the platform without paying, which is an intentional design choice on Discord’s part. But that also means user acquisition can be tricky.

“Nitro has always been about how we can meaningfully upgrade the Discord experience, but not limit it [for free users] in any large way,” Stanislav Vishnevskiy, Discord’s co-founder and CTO, told TechCrunch.

Nitro Rewards, available for both Nitro Basic ($2.99 per month) and Nitro ($9.99 per month) subscribers, is meant to improve the value for subscribers, and therefore retain them.

At launch, Nitro Rewards will provide access to the base tier of Xbox Game Pass, which lets you play more than 50 PC and Xbox games, including Fallout 4, Stardew Valley, and Day Z. The tier also includes 10 hours of cloud gaming, which lets you stream games from a PC or Xbox to other devices.

Nitro Rewards also provides discounts between 15% and 30% on a rotating selection of gaming hardware from Logitech G, SteelSeries, and KontrolFreak. Over time, Discord plans to partner with more companies for similar offers.

“Nitro is the biggest contributor to Discord revenue, and it’s been growing healthily year on year,” said Vishnevskiy. “This is about doubling down on that and providing you more value again […] It’s honestly a big thank you to [subscribers] for supporting us. But also from a business perspective, it’s better retention on subscription as well, because people have more value for it.”

Initially conceived as a chat platform for gamers, Discord today plays a much larger role in online culture, serving as a community hub for all kinds of users — from crypto users building decentralized community projects and pub=goers organizing local craft nights to activists coordinating political protests. Discord also has an outsized role in the tech community, and founders have been using the platform to convene beta testers or power users of their products and communicate with them more directly. The platform has grown to over 90 million daily active users.

But this increased exposure means that Discord has to confront the same complex, online safety issues as larger platforms. The company is currently preparing to roll out age-verification measures as it faces more lawsuits over children’s online safety.