Discord would love to be added as an app on the Nintendo Switch if only Nintendo would offer them some support.
In all the headlines of Epic Games this and timed exclusive that, it’s sometimes easy to forget there’s another digital storefront that’s trying to unseat Steam. Discord has been quietly adding more and more features to its core chat service for years, tossing up a subscription service for custom emojis and avatars a few years ago, and last year unveiling a storefront where you can buy and download games.
They even offer a better revenue split than Epic by taking a cut of only 10% instead of 12%. So buy on Discord if you REALLY want to support the devs.
But there’s one frontier that Discord still hasn’t crossed, and that’s the Switch. Discord would love to get their app on the Switch, if only Nintendo would give them the time of day.
How do we know? Discord tossed up a token Mother’s Day image on Twitter in honor of moms everywhere yesterday featuring the mothers of Animal Crossing. When a Twitter user responded to ask when Discord would finally release on Switch, a Discord spokesperson tweeted back they’d love to do it.
"We would love to bring Discord to the Switch! But we'd need Nintendo's blessing for that to happen first,” they said. “Vote up the idea here and maybe it could be a thing someday."
That particular Twitter post already has 750 likes, but that doesn’t seem nearly enough to capture Nintendo’s attention.
Discord has a big hill to climb to get released on the Switch. Nintendo already has a proprietary chat and friend management system integrated with the Switch OS and has absolutely no reason to allow a competing software on their platform regardless of how well-liked Discord is.
Nintendo also has its eShop providing games to its user base, and it seems even more insane to allow a competing storefront on the Switch to sap away at their profits.
Not to mention the fact that Nintendo really likes to control who gets to say what on their console, and Discord would make that far more complicated than it already is.
So, Discord on the Switch? We don't want to say "never", but probably not ever. Probably.