Technology
Jason Citron Steps Down as Discord CEO
- Jason Citron, co-founder of Discord, has stepped down as CEO after nearly a decade, passing the role to Humam Sakhnini, former president of King. The platform now serves over 200 million monthly active users across 19 million servers globally.
- Discord’s revenue for 2024 was estimated at £540 million, with Nitro subscriptions making up 42% of income. The leadership transition is widely seen as a strategic step toward a potential £10–12 billion IPO.
On 23 April 2025, Jason Citron — the co-founder of Discord — announced he would be stepping down as CEO. It’s a move that surprised many in the industry. Citron built Discord from the ground up, growing it from a niche gaming voice chat app into a global social platform with over 200 million monthly active users.
Starting 28 April, Humam Sakhnini, former president of King and executive at Activision Blizzard, will take over as CEO. Citron isn’t leaving the business completely. He will transition to a board-level role and serve as a strategic advisor.
Discord’s Growth Since Launch
If you’ve ever used Discord, you know how quickly it’s become part of everyday communication, especially among younger users.
When it launched in 2015, Discord was built for gamers. It offered reliable, low-latency voice chat with servers and private channels. Since then:
- Monthly users have grown from 150,000 in 2015 to 200+ million in 2025
- It operates across 29 languages, including a UK-specific server community.
- It now hosts over 19 million active servers.
- Discord has approximately 870 employees, with growing UK and European support staff.
In the UK, Discord is used widely across gaming, education, creative industries, and niche communities. According to a 2024 report by Ofcom, 31% of UK teens between 13 and 18 use Discord weekly, with adoption rising steadily in professional and academic circles as well.
Why Step Down Now?
In a blog post, Citron explained that Discord’s current needs have changed. His strengths lie in building, not in scaling a global enterprise.
“I’m proud of what we built together. But I believe the next phase of Discord requires a different type of leadership — one experienced in growth at scale,” he wrote.
It’s not a failure. It’s a handoff.
Citron built the culture, platform and vision. Now that Discord is moving toward monetisation, international growth, and a potential IPO, it makes sense to bring in someone with public market and commercial experience.
Enter Humam Sakhnini
If you’re in the UK and you’ve played Candy Crush, Call of Duty, or World of Warcraft, you’ve seen Sakhnini’s influence.
He served as president of King, the UK-based mobile gaming company behind Candy Crush, and held senior roles at Activision Blizzard. He helped lead international expansion and worked on business operations in more than 50 countries.
Sakhnini’s appointment as Discord CEO isn’t just about tech. It’s about preparing the company for long-term monetisation and eventual public trading. His experience with UK markets is also worth noting.
Discord’s potential IPO has been rumoured for years, and according to industry analysts at Morgan Stanley, it could be valued between £10 and 12 billion when listed — depending on revenue growth and user retention.
What Discord Looks Like Today
Under Citron, Discord has evolved beyond gaming. Communities range from stock trading and education to climate action and fan fiction. Features like Stage Channels, screen sharing, AI bots, and custom integrations have helped it compete with Zoom, Slack, and even Reddit.
Discord Nitro, the premium subscription offering, has become a key revenue stream, offering perks like higher upload limits and HD streaming.
Recent financials (private) suggest:
- Discord’s revenue in 2024 was estimated at £540 million
- Nitro subscriptions account for 42% of that.
- Advertising and partnerships are in early stages but projected to grow by 35% YoY.
For UK users, Discord isn’t just a gaming platform anymore. It’s used by creators, study groups, podcast communities, musicians, and fan clubs. Universities and virtual workspaces use it to replace tools like Slack or Teams.
What UK Users Should Watch For
So what changes might you see as Sakhnini steps in?
- More UK Market Focus
Expect more region-specific features, moderation policies, and support channels. Discord has been testing partnerships with UK universities and broadcasters, which may scale. - New Revenue Streams
Look for more aggressive Nitro promotions and potentially paid server enhancements. Will Discord add ads? Citron has said no in the past, but new leadership could rethink that. - IPO Preparation
For users, this may mean feature stability, clearer terms, and better user reporting tools — especially important for UK content creators building communities. - Tighter AI Integration
Discord is already testing generative AI features for server moderation and user customisation. You’ll likely see this continue under Sakhnini, especially after his work integrating AI at King and Activision.
A Leadership Shift as a Business Case
From a brand strategy perspective, Discord’s leadership transition offers a case study in timely succession.
Citron was built from zero. Sakhnini scales from hundreds of millions. It’s rare to see a founder step aside without a crisis forcing the move.
For UK founders, especially in the tech space, there’s something to learn here:
- Know when your strengths are better used elsewhere
- Let your brand evolve, even if it means letting go of control.
- Match leadership to your business stage, not your comfort zone.
Global Brand, Local Impact
Discord has offices in San Francisco, London, and Berlin and growing localisation efforts in UK English — not just translation, but cultural community management.
With over 4.5 million UK-based monthly active users, the platform is bigger here than platforms like Reddit or Tumblr.
What makes Discord particularly powerful for UK creators is its structure — free to set up, highly customisable, and not algorithm-driven. This means UK communities (whether you’re into Dungeons & Dragons, grime music, or biotech research) can grow organically.
Sakhnini’s track record in expanding globally positioned brands may bring more visibility and support to UK-led services and partnerships.
You and Your Server: What Should You Do Now?
If you’re running a community on Discord — or part of one — now’s the time to:
- Audit your server settings
- Consider using more Discord-native features (Threads, Forums, Events)
- Think about monetisation options through Server Subscriptions or Nitro partnerships.
- Track product updates from the new CEO — they will likely start surfacing by summer.
If you’re a brand, community leader, or digital marketer in the UK, it might also be worth reconnecting with Discord’s partnership team. New leadership usually means new outreach strategies — especially for markets outside the US.
What Comes Next?
Jason Citron stays involved. He’s on the board, advising. He’ll still help with culture and early product vision. But his era as CEO is closing.
The question for users like you is: What do you want Discord to be next?
Do you want better moderation tools? More brand partnerships? UK-specific support? A mobile app that functions like WhatsApp or something closer to Twitch? These are choices the new leadership will shape.
For now, Discord continues to grow. Your server is still live. Your DMs still work. But the leadership behind the scenes is turning a page.
