Developers, has anyone said how incredible you all are? Well, let us remind you: y’all are INCREDIBLE — just look at all the stuff we did together last year. Creating great Apps on Discord is a never-ending adventure of creating nearly anything you can think of.

When it comes to gaming, Discord is core to how players find each other, play together, and stay connected, whether they’re already playing their favorite PC and console games, or they’re spending time together in more low-key in-server Activities. And plenty of Discord Developers out there have had their eyes on Activities, wondering when they could create their own. 

That time? It’s (almost) now. Starting March 18, Discord Developers will be able to build new games and experiences that can be played directly on the platform with our new Embedded App SDK. 

There’s a lot to talk about in this article — try using the Table of Contents to navigate through it all! You’ll see it on the right of your browser window on desktop or at the bottom of your screen if you’re on mobile.

Introducing: the Embedded App SDK!

You might be asking yourself: “What’s the Embedded App SDK?” Explained plainly, the Embedded App SDK lets you build apps that are embedded in an iframe within Discord, i.e. the Activities you know and love today. Long story short, Discord Developers like you create amazing Apps on Discord, whether they’re helping in your conversations, or rich interactive experiences that you and your friends can play instantly within Discord. 

‍We want Discord to grow into the best place for developers to do it all: build, share, distribute, be discovered, and monetize their work. We want Discord to be where your App gets its start, where it finds a home in the communities of people around the world, and where it can be easily shared between friends. 

Whether you’re building a traditional text-based App that you’re used to or a new Activity that people can play, you’re still developing directly within Discord. And it’s up to you and your dev team to decide how it takes shape!  

The Embedded App SDK is available globally starting March 18, so head to the Developer Portal to learn how to get started! If you want to see what you can build, you already can: hop into a Voice Channel and use the Rocket button to try out today’s available Activities with your friends! 

Got an Idea for an Activity? Pitch It to Us!

Last year, we gave out thousands of dollars in funding to Discord Developers to make their App dreams a reality — check out the projects that received funding here!

Back by popular demand, and because we love seeing how creative our Discord Developer community can be, we’re bringing back Discord App Pitches, with a focus on building Activities this time around. Show off your prototypes to our judges and you could win up to $30,000! (That’s a lot of zeroes.) 

Check out this year’s App Pitches using the big blurple button below: 

If you’re unsure if your idea would fit, don’t worry: just like last year, we’ll have a Wildcard category  — your only boundaries are your imagination (and all of our cool legal terms and developer policies of course)! 

But wait, There’s More: Apps Break Free from Servers

You ever see a cool App in a Discord server and think to yourself: “gee, I wish I could use that App and its commands outside of just servers.” Well, soon you’ll be able to! We want it to be easier for users to access apps, so we're experimenting with a way for users to add apps to their accounts to use in spaces they're in across Discord. 

This experiment will be available for testing starting March 18, so you may see users testing out these apps within DMs, group chats, and small servers. 

App Developers can decide ahead of time whether or not their App is strictly for servers or if people can add their apps to their accounts. When the experiment fully launches, your creation will be ready to roll! Take a peek at our Developer Portal on March 18 and Help Center article for more info. 

Plus, coming up, if you see or know an App you love, you’ll be able to add it to your account and use it anywhere on Discord. Just type a Slash and you’ll see both a server’s apps and any Apps you’ve saved.

Celebrating GDC 2024, Both In-Person and Online

If you’re attending the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, we want to meet you! We’ll be in the Moscone Center all week, from Monday, March 18 to Friday, March 22. 

At home? Well, we still want to meet you! Check out our plans for the real world and the virtual world: 

I’ll be at GDC! What can I expect to see from Discord?

Our booth has all sorts of stuff to do during the show, including stage talks about all the creative things you can build on Discord and opportunities to win Discord Dev-themed merch. If you need more convincing, we’ll have something that every dev needs: free coffee. You know you want some. 

We’re also running some lovely-yet-informative talks during GDC, all about creating captivating Apps on Discord. Check out the week’s schedule of talks and events on our GDC page. 

I’m cozy at home! What’s happening in the DDevs server?

San Francisco isn’t the only place where Discord Developers come together! This year, we’re starting our digital festivities with a “Discord @ GDC: Virtual Kickoff Party” directly in the official Discord Developers server on Monday, March 18 at 11:00 AM PST. If you’re interested in attending and/or partying, use the big blurple button below to join the DDevs community: 

Throughout the week, we’ve got plenty of shenanigans happening that Discord Developers of any skill level are welcome to attend: we’ve got a deep-dive session on everything related to the new Embedded App SDK planned, an Activities Buildathon utilizing our new SDK, and a live tour of our physical GDC booth! 

Whether you want to be informed, overcome challenges, or just socialize with the developer community, the Discord Developers server is the best spot to be during GDC week. See ya there, yeah? 

If you made it this far, thanks for stickin’ around! We’d love to talk about all our exciting new developments with you, so be sure to swing by our GDC booth or join the DDevs community where we’ll be around even after the show ends! 

Itching to learn more? One: we’re envious of your enthusiasm. Two: check out these last tidbits of knowledge and resources to continue your development of your… well, development skills! 

• Still don’t know what Apps are on Discord? Learn all about how to add them to your communities, how they work, and more on our Beginner’s Guide to Discord Apps.
• Did you know that eligible developers can monetize their Apps to earn some well-deserved revenue? Check out Premium Apps here! We’ll also show them off in a DDevs event soon. 
• Need to get inspired? See what the developer community is creating in the App Directory. 
• Have we mentioned the DDevs community? It’s great, you’re great, join us and make DDevs even greater with your presence!