Discord recently introduced Orbs, an experimental virtual rewards system, to encourage Discord users to engage more with the platform’s advertising product. On Wednesday, May 28th, 2025, Discord released their music bot to the public. This adjustment is an important pivot in their plan to capitalize user engagement and ultimately prepare for an initial public offering (IPO).
Peter Sellis, Discord’s senior vice president of product, emphasized the success of the platform’s existing ad format, Quests, which has proven effective in recent months. The initiative has more than 70 Quests, with an acceptance rate of less than 10%. Users have redeemed millions of rewards simply by doing fun and interactive activities. Quests reward users for interacting with shoppable product videos and immersive, branded gaming experiences from advertisers.
Users can earn Orbs by finishing these Quests – essentially adding a new level of engagement with ads. The system makes it much more enticing for new users to start their journey on Quests. This growing participation means greater visibility and engagement for advertisers on the platform. The experience rewards earned through Quests consists of exciting gear and other virtual swag that builds on the fun user journey provided by Discord.
Users have to earn a total of 1,400 Orbs to redeem three free days of Nitro. This subscription typically retails for $10 per month. This presents a strong upsell opportunity to users who will quickly fall in love with the advanced features that Nitro delivers. Orbs can be traded for special digital goods found in Discord’s Shop. These include Nitro credits, profile badges, avatar decorations and other profile effects.
This effort has hidden value, as it is setting the stage for a strong advertising business to be built on the platform. Discord is pioneering a new reward system that really understands what users want. Not only will this strategy make its advertising products more effective, but it will provide tangible value to its user base.
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