Xbox becomes the first game console to officially support Discord voice chat
Xbox becomes the first game console to officially support Discord voice chat
Simplifying Your Discord Life Adds Some Complications
Since its debut in 2015, Discord has exploded in popularity as a user-friendly chat platform for gaming on computers and smartphones. A major differentiator from a service like Slack, which looks and functions similarly, is Discord's smart links to existing gaming networks. The idea being that wherever you play a game, Discord can broadcast that status to your friends via links to other platforms' APIs ("playing Stray on PlayStation", "LFP in World of WarCraft," "streaming a session of Peggle 2 on Twitch"). Users can switch between direct messages, game-specific text chat rooms, real-time voice channels, and even video-sharing services to coordinate their next online gaming sessions.
But what if you want to talk with your Discord voice chat friends while using dedicated headphones on an Xbox, PlayStation, or Switch? Until this week, you couldn't do it directly on any console. Your best bet was to find a headset that supported simultaneous Bluetooth inputs, then connect it to both your console and your Discord-charged smartphone. (You can also do what I do: put a smartphone earphone in one ear for Discord, then put a console headset on it. I don't recommend it.)
First, you will need to sync your Discord account with your Xbox account.
Prompt for Xbox credentials.
Redirect to Xbox.com to do so.
And a reminder of everything Xbox will hand over to Discord in this process.
Unfortunately, Discord's rollout on Xbox this week is a bit limited. The biggest problem is that there is no formal Discord app or interface on Xbox. You will need to keep a smartphone handy to initiate a "transfer" of your Discord session. Get ready for a tedious initial setup process.
Simplifying Your Discord Life Adds Some Complications
Since its debut in 2015, Discord has exploded in popularity as a user-friendly chat platform for gaming on computers and smartphones. A major differentiator from a service like Slack, which looks and functions similarly, is Discord's smart links to existing gaming networks. The idea being that wherever you play a game, Discord can broadcast that status to your friends via links to other platforms' APIs ("playing Stray on PlayStation", "LFP in World of WarCraft," "streaming a session of Peggle 2 on Twitch"). Users can switch between direct messages, game-specific text chat rooms, real-time voice channels, and even video-sharing services to coordinate their next online gaming sessions.
But what if you want to talk with your Discord voice chat friends while using dedicated headphones on an Xbox, PlayStation, or Switch? Until this week, you couldn't do it directly on any console. Your best bet was to find a headset that supported simultaneous Bluetooth inputs, then connect it to both your console and your Discord-charged smartphone. (You can also do what I do: put a smartphone earphone in one ear for Discord, then put a console headset on it. I don't recommend it.)
First, you will need to sync your Discord account with your Xbox account.
Prompt for Xbox credentials.
Redirect to Xbox.com to do so.
And a reminder of everything Xbox will hand over to Discord in this process.
Unfortunately, Discord's rollout on Xbox this week is a bit limited. The biggest problem is that there is no formal Discord app or interface on Xbox. You will need to keep a smartphone handy to initiate a "transfer" of your Discord session. Get ready for a tedious initial setup process.
Simplifying Your Discord Life Adds Some Complications
Since its debut in 2015, Discord has exploded in popularity as a user-friendly chat platform for gaming on computers and smartphones. A major differentiator from a service like Slack, which looks and functions similarly, is Discord's smart links to existing gaming networks. The idea being that wherever you play a game, Discord can broadcast that status to your friends via links to other platforms' APIs ("playing Stray on PlayStation", "LFP in World of WarCraft," "streaming a session of Peggle 2 on Twitch"). Users can switch between direct messages, game-specific text chat rooms, real-time voice channels, and even video-sharing services to coordinate their next online gaming sessions.
