Despite only launching Nitro games a year ago, Discord has confirmed it’s pulling its “Netflix for games” service because “the vast majority of Nitro subscribers didn’t play them”. The initial selection of Nitro games available to subscribers included recent and slightly older classics like Saints Row the Third, Super Meat Boy, Limbo, and System Shock: Enhanced Edition.
“We learned a lot from all of you over the last year,” Discord’s “Nelly” told players via the official Discord blog (thanks, Engadget). “Through your valuable feedback, it became clear that while we and some of you love these games, the truth is the vast majority of Nitro subscribers didn’t play them.
“So, after careful consideration, we won’t be hitting Continue when these contracts come up for renewal. The Nitro Games catalogue will be removed on October 15th, 2019.
“To those who did support these games, thank you so much,” Nelly added. “We know this may be a surprising change, so If you want to cancel your Nitro subscription because of this, we’re offering a refund.”
Looking ahead, the company believes the removal of Nitro games will give Discord “resources to refocus”, so it’s “going to double down on making sure Nitro nails its mission: more features, fun, and enhancements for hanging out in Discord with the people you care about”.
Discord recently 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 said in a blog post update back in March. “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”.
