Discord Gets New Leadership: Jason Citron Steps Down After 10 Years

Discord, the popular messaging platform used by millions of gamers worldwide, is going through a major leadership change.

After leading the company for a decade, co-founder Jason Citron is stepping down as CEO.

Humam Sakhnini, who previously worked as vice chairman at Activision Blizzard, will take over the top position starting April 28.

Citron isn't leaving Discord entirely. He'll remain on the company's board of directors and will serve as an advisor to the new CEO. Meanwhile, Stanislav Vishnevskiy, who co-founded Discord with Citron, will continue in his role as chief technology officer.

"Building Discord over the last decade has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life," Citron said in a statement. He explained that Discord's mission has always been about bringing people together around games, something he's dedicated his career to.

The leadership change comes at an important time for Discord. According to company reports, the platform now serves more than 200 million monthly active users worldwide, with people spending about 2 billion hours playing games each month across thousands of titles.

Sakhnini brings considerable gaming industry experience to his new role. Before joining Discord, he managed a multi-billion dollar portfolio at Activision Blizzard that included popular games like Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and Candy Crush. He also previously served as President of King Digital Entertainment after it was acquired by Activision Blizzard.

The incoming CEO expressed enthusiasm about joining Discord. "Discord stands as a massive, foundational part of the gaming ecosystem that millions of players, developers, and publishers rely on every day," Sakhnini stated. He praised what Citron and Vishnevskiy have built, calling it "a platform with an undeniable product-market fit where hundreds of millions of people connect around their passion for gaming and shared interests."

Discord has evolved significantly since its launch in 2015. What began primarily as a communication tool for gamers has grown into a versatile platform featuring video and voice chat, game streaming, and numerous interactive activities for users worldwide.

In 2024, the company refocused on its gaming roots and began exploring new business opportunities beyond its core consumer subscription service. These include advertising, micro-transactions, and providing social infrastructure to game developers. This strategic shift has apparently paid off, with the company reporting continued revenue growth and positive adjusted EBITDA for the past five quarters.

The news about Discord's CEO change has sparked various reactions from users on social media. Some expressed concerns that Sakhnini's background at Activision Blizzard might lead to more monetization features on the platform.

"Wonderful... get ready for microtransactions... Get 5 chat tokens for $5 to talk to your friends in your private Discord server!" one user commented on social media.

Others are taking a more cautious approach, with one user noting, "Oh wow, that's a big one. Curious to see how someone with Activision and King experience will steer the Discord ship."

Mitch Lasky, a member of Discord's Board of Directors, praised both the outgoing and incoming CEOs. He expressed gratitude to Citron for his vision that has allowed Discord to "reach and delight millions and millions of people." Regarding Sakhnini, Lasky said, "I believe he is the ideal leader for this new phase of Discord's history, with his deep understanding of the game business generally, and particularly the nuances of customer acquisition and modern revenue creation."

The leadership transition comes as Discord continues to add new features to its platform. Recently, the company began testing a face scanning feature to help verify the age of its users. There are also reports that Discord might be preparing for an IPO (Initial Public Offering), which would make the company publicly traded on the stock market.