In brief: Discord will enter the next phase of its journey under new leadership. Co-founder and CEO Jason Citron shared the news with employees in a recent memo, which was also made public on the company’s blog.

Discord was conceived by Citron and Stanislav Vishnevskiy, who wanted to create something akin to a virtual living room where friends could chat with each other about games they like. In fact, Final Fantasy XI was a big inspiration for the chat service which is now used by hundreds of millions of people each month.

The service went live in May of 2015. Its focus is still on gamers, but others have also adopted Discord for things like workplace chat and to discuss various hobbies or interests.

Humam Sakhnini has been brought in to succeed Citron. Sakhnini arrives with more than 15 years of experience in the gaming industry, which includes a stint at Activision Blizzard where he served as chief strategy officer overseeing franchises like Call of Duty and World of Warcraft. He also led King as president from 2019 through early 2022.

Sakhnini will officially take over on April 28, but he won’t be tossed into the deep end without a life preserver. Citron will stick around to help with the onboarding process and serve in an advisory capacity. He will also retain his position on the board of directors, we are told.

In March 2024, Discord revealed it had over 200 million monthly active users and was planning an IPO in the not-too-distant future. That still has not happened, and it is interesting that it won’t be coming to fruition under Citron’s watch.

Citron said building Discord has been one of the most rewarding experiences of his life, adding that he is deeply grateful for the many friendships, challenges, and achievements along the way. Looking ahead at what will be needed from Discord’s CEO over the coming years, Citron said it’s time for him to “hire himself out of a job.”

Image credit: Ella Don, Alexander Shatov