Discord has announced the launch of its “next evolution” of verified servers to provide publishers and developers with “enhanced community options and commerce tools”.
“Starting now, we’re mixing in some tapioca starch and thickening up Verified Servers for devs in a big way,” Discord says in a blog post update. “For a small development fee, devs will have access to store channels and news channels. Once approved, they’ll receive a verified checkmark, get vanity perks, and appear in server discovery.”
Developers will be able to sell their titles directly through their own store page on their verified servers, “integrating commerce directly into the chat environment”. They’ll also get a verified checkmark, vanity perks and cosmetics, inclusion in Discord’s server discovery feature, analytics, marketing and community “activations”, as well as a gifting system.
As “game commerce [is] shifting to verified servers”, Discord has also confirmed it will replace its game store tab with its Nitro subscription games catalogue. While players’ libraries will remain unchanged, they will be able to find and purchase games through servers in response to “game commerce shifting to communities”.
The press release does not offer further information about the “small development fee”, but developers can “get started” without formal verification or approval from Discord – simply head over to the Discord Dev Portal to start. After paying the fee, “you’ll get immediate access to pre-launch lifecycle tools”. After that, however, you will need to complete a checklist “prior to submitting for approval”, after which Discord’s “verification wizards will review your server, your game, and your store pages”.
“We’re really super excited to open the gates, release our tools, and enable devs to control their own destiny in the same way they control building their communities. Take advantage of this tasty gazpacho by heading here,” Discord concludes.
