The popular social platform Discord was originally created so its founder could chat with friends while playing Final Fantasy XI.
Yes, we owe the creation of Discord to Square Enix’s first MMORPG. Today, it’s used worldwide for voice communication and building online communities.
In an interview with Famitsu (via Siliconera), Discord’s creator Stanislav Vishnevskiy explained how the platform came to be: he was “obsessed” with Final Fantasy XI and developed an early version of the software to enhance communication while playing.
Later, when Vishnevskiy moved to California and joined mobile game developer GREE, he met co-founder Jason Citron, and together they officially launched Discord.
But why did Discord succeed, especially when other voice chat apps like Skype were already available? Vishnevskiy attributes the success to Discord’s simplicity.
The goal was to create a virtual “living room where you can spend time with your friends,” rather than just another utility. He believes this vision is what made Discord unique.
Nowadays, Vishnevskiy is also a fan of Final Fantasy XIV. He took a week off to play the new Dawntrail expansion and has maxed out most jobs to level 100.
As for Final Fantasy XIV, its next patch, 7.1, is set to include the Final Fantasy XI-themed Alliance Raid series, Echoes of Vana’diel, launching in mid-November.
Recently, Discord introduced a feature that allows users to share their recent playtime with friends, though it can be turned off if desired.
Meanwhile, Microsoft has expanded Discord integration on the Xbox Series X/S, now allowing users to combine friends from both Xbox and Discord and even watch streams directly from the Xbox Friends list.
