Discord opens ad platform to selected advertisers

Discord has introduced Ads Manager, a campaign platform intended to make advertising on the chat service accessible to a wider range of marketers, while expanding its mobile-first rewarded-video format. The platform is now available to a selected group of advertisers, and Discord says full self-service access is planned for early 2027. Ads Manager brings campaign planning, setup and management into one interface. Advertisers can set budgets, choose campaign objectives, bid for delivery and monitor results, according to the company’s product description. Its auction-based system lets marketers adjust bids rather than relying exclusively on fixed-price arrangements. Until now, many businesses seeking to advertise on Discord relied on direct sales relationships with the company. The wider rollout is intended to let smaller game studios and other marketers manage campaigns themselves. The advertising expansion also includes Video Quests, a mobile-first format in which users can opt to watch a short video in exchange for Orbs, Discord’s virtual currency. Users become eligible for the reward after about 15 seconds of viewing, rather than having to finish the entire video.