Discord hired an Activision Blizzard vet as CEO to steer its gaming-rooted monetization

Discord runs a chat and community platform spanning gaming and social media, with over 200 million monthly active users.

A gaming-industry operator is the right CEO to monetize 200 million users through ads and micro-transactions without breaking the community.

Jason Citron co-founded Discord in 2015, two years after pitching his multiplayer battle arena game at Startup Battlefield; the platform grew from gamer voice chat into a prominent social platform.

In April 2025, amid IPO rumors, Discord appointed Humam Sakhnini — former Activision Blizzard vice chairman and CEO of its mobile studio King, whose Candy Crush thrives on ads and micro-transactions — as CEO, with the company saying it had 'refocused on its gaming roots' to explore monetization in advertising and micro-transactions. Citron left the CEO role after 13 years but remains an advisor and board member.

The hire signals Discord sees its future in gaming rather than social networking.

Sakhnini ran King, whose games thrive on the advertising and micro-transactions Discord now wants.

The move comes amid IPO rumors, when predictable, monetizable revenue matters most to public-market buyers.

Ads and micro-transactions are unpopular with gamers, so the bet carries real community risk.

Who you hire as CEO tells investors which future you're betting on: a King veteran means ads, micro-transactions and an IPO runway, even if the community braces for the change.

As of the announcement, Citron was transitioning to an advisor role and board seat, and fans were already wary the company could turn more corporate and profit-hungry. Discord had not confirmed any IPO timing.