Discord has reported a successful first year for its Quests initiative, generating 70 campaigns in partnership with advertisers and delivering millions of rewards to engaged gamers. Speaking at the IAB Playfronts event, Peter Sellis, Discord's senior vice president of product, highlighted how Quests have improved game discovery and engagement while offering an advertising model that resonates with players.
Discord's Quests Generate Millions of Rewards for Gamers
Discord's gaming roots and current reach
Discord started as a platform for friends to connect while playing games, and it has grown into a central hub for gamers worldwide. The platform expanded beyond gaming during the pandemic, but has since recommitted to its gaming focus. Today, 93% of Discord's users actively play games. Each month, Discord's 200 million active users collectively log 1.5 billion hours of gameplay across more than 8,000 PC titles.
Sellis explained that Discord has become a primary space where gamers gather, communicate, and discover new content. Traditional advertising often fails to engage gaming audiences because players value authenticity. Quests was designed to work with existing player behavior, rewarding users for meaningful interaction with games and content rather than forcing disruptive ads.
Discord's Quests Generate Millions of Rewards for Gamers
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How Quests works and what it delivers
Quests represents a different approach to advertising on Discord, creating a model where players, developers, and brands all gain something. Instead of standard advertisements, Quests encourage users to interact with content in exchange for in-game rewards. Players who participate in a Quest are three times more likely to engage with future campaigns, showing the initiative's ability to maintain long-term engagement.
Advertisers have responded positively. More than half of Discord's Quests partners have returned for a second campaign, confirming the model's effectiveness. Successful campaigns have included major game developers and entertainment companies. miHoYo used Quests to promote a significant update for Genshin Impact, which resulted in an 80% increase in playtime during the campaign week. Max launched a Video Quest to promote Dune: Prophecy, achieving an 85% completion rate for a trailer that ran 2 minutes and 38 seconds.
Discord's Quests Generate Millions of Rewards for Gamers
Why traditional gaming ads don't work
Before launching Quests, Discord identified that many brands and developers struggled to connect with players through traditional advertising. Gamers resist ads that disrupt their experience or feel inauthentic. Discord designed Quests to integrate seamlessly into the platform, providing value to both players and advertisers without interrupting gameplay.
The initiative has been particularly effective in leveraging the social nature of gaming. Players who engage in Quests with friends are seven times more likely to increase their gameplay. This peer influence makes Discord an attractive platform for advertisers seeking to reach engaged audiences in ways that align with how they already behave.
Discord's Quests Generate Millions of Rewards for Gamers
What's next for Quests
Quests currently exist in two main formats: Video Quests, which focus on driving awareness through trailers and promotional content, and Play Quests, which encourage players to interact with games to unlock rewards. Discord plans to expand Video Quests to mobile, providing advertisers with new opportunities to reach audiences.
The broader gaming industry continues to shift, with Gen Z and Gen Alpha leading the move toward digital social spaces. Research from IAB's vice president of experiences, Zoe Soon, indicates that 90 to 95% of these generations identify as gamers, making platforms like Discord critical for brand engagement. Gaming is not exclusive to younger players, with the average gamer age now at 37, highlighting the broad appeal of gaming-related content.
Discord's Quests Generate Millions of Rewards for Gamers
Looking ahead
Discord continues to refine Quests, with plans to develop the rewards system further by introducing new incentives such as avatar decorations and other digital collectibles. Mobile video support is set to roll out in June, positioning the platform for continued growth in the gaming and advertising space.
The first year of Quests has demonstrated its potential to redefine advertising in gaming, offering an approach that prioritizes engagement and authenticity. By balancing the needs of players, developers, and advertisers, Discord has established Quests as a valuable tool for connecting gaming audiences with meaningful content.
