The social messaging platform Discord has announced an update to monetization with a plan that sits between Nitro Classic and regular, free Discord. A new entry-level tier by the name of Nitro Basic has been introduced to offer access to some paid features with a little less of a burden on the wallet.

The messaging platform that offers cross-platform audio chat, video calling, and regular text chat has added a third subscription tier under its current Nitro plans. The newly added Nitro Basic subscription plan costs $2.99 per month, a significant discount over the regular Nitro's $9.99 monthly price, and a fair bit cheaper than Nitro Classic at $4.99. However, there isn't yet a discounted yearly subscription for Nitro Basic, like there is for other Nitro subscriptions.

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The initial launch will occur in the UK, where only Desktop users currently have access to Nitro Basic. This means that initially linking PlayStation with Discord, or using most other platforms, isn't going to do any good with Nitro Basic. Soon, Discord will add Nitro Basic support for the iOS app, and other platforms should follow. At this point, there is no word on when Nitro Basic will land in the U.S., which might be confusing due to pricing being mentioned in USD. Discord hasn't revealed when a possible worldwide rollout will begin, either. For those that already have a Nitro subscription and are eligible for Nitro Basic, Discord allows downgrading from the settings. There isn't, however, a way to give the service as a gift at this moment.

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There are four significant upgrades in the new tier compared to the free version of Discord. The new version of the platform, used even by World of Warcraft developers, adds animated and custom emojis that are usable regardless of server, custom stickers in addition to 300 Nitro exclusive ones, customizable backgrounds for video calls, and perhaps most importantly, a bigger file upload limit of 20MB. There's also the same Nitro profile badge that is given to regular Nitro subscribers. Comparatively, Nitro has a 100MB and Nitro Classic has a 50MB upload limit. Other perks of the higher tiers include server boosts and high-definition video.

Even though the service is used by all kinds of communities, Discord's integration with game consoles, and games in general, has made it popular. It has allowed gaming communities to thrive while offering features that were previously found mostly on dedicated VoIP tools, like TeamSpeak. The new tier is likely going to be a convenient stepping stone for entering the premium Discord service.

Source: Discord

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