Our birthday has ended, so Party Mode and its accompanying video background have been sunset—we hope you enjoyed it. You can learn more about what these features used to contain below, and of course you can still enjoy the new line of Discord merch!

Seven years. Think about that for a second: we’ve been around for seven whole years. A lot can happen in that time, and nothing makes that clearer than looking at where we are versus where we started from. Did you know that when we first launched, there was no friends list? You couldn’t direct message people, either. And most shockingly of all, Light theme was mandatory. (horror movie strings)

So we’re taking some time to celebrate seven awesome years with all of you. On the party agenda: special birthday weekend features, a special animated video background for everyone to use, and new threads to wear under the summer skies. 

So come on — strap a hat on and follow us! We left a slice of cake there for you. (What flavor is blurple frosting, anyway?) 

Celebrations and Cheers when Discord Party Mode Appears 

Grab your rattle rachets and fill up the balloons — we’re starting the party directly on Discord itself. As a special celebratory measure this weekend, desktop and web users will have a new feature waiting for them: Party Mode. 

When Party Mode’s enabled in User Settings > Party Mode tab (you’ll need to opt-in before the party starts!), every character you type will explode with confetti. Crowds will cheer and your typing field will tremble as your Combo meter increases. Yes, we said Combo meter. It’s the most scientific way of measuring Hype ever devised.

Of course, it’s your party too, so you can customize all the details. Going into the Party Mode tab presents you with options to tailor your whole festive experience. And something about… Achievements? You’ll have to check out Party Mode yourself to see what they are.

Want the confetti and not the screen shake? Or much less confetti, but normal screen shake? Or more screen shake? Or EVEN MORE screen shake? Being the party controller means you set the vibe anywhere from “low key” to “borderline unusable,” and there are no wrong answers.

Party Mode is opt-in, so don’t worry — you won’t get jumpscared by confetti this weekend. Plus, if you’ve previously enabled Reduced Motion in the Accessibility Settings, Party Mode will default to a very gently festive experience: screen shake and confetti will be turned off unless you disable Reduced Motion.

There’s even more to Party Mode, so check out the Help Center article here. It’s kinda like the instruction manual for your party’s inflatable bounce house: you don’t have to read it before you dive in headfirst, but, you know, it’s definitely there.

Party Mode will be available for the birthday weekend until May 16th, 2022. 

Discord’s Newest Merch Drop is Here: Idle Nights 🌙

The Idle Night collection is a chill mood distilled. Shades of blurple and fuchsia transport you to the sunset hour, or the sunrise, depending on just how hard you’ve been partying. Whether you’re spending those golden hours hitting the town or Voice chatting with all your best friends, the Idle Nights line has something for every type of outing (or inning).   

Alt-text: Four friends are standing next to each other. They’re wearing new Discord-branded merchandise, including a towel, hoodies, and shirts. Two of them are holding water bottles. 

We went all out with this one — there are new hoodies, shirts, and stickers, along with summer-centric items such as beach towels, water bottles, and tank tops. Check out the entire merch line at our lookbook blog, or jump straight to our merch store at discordmerch.com. 
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Party With Your Friends Against the Special Video Background

Next time you’re vid chatting this weekend, pop on this party background to kick up the mood a notch. It’s a backyard celebration where balloons sway in the breeze, close friends are lounging poolside, and something smells like burnt burgers… but that's probably fine. 

In order to access and change your video background to the Birthday background, or any of the available video backgrounds, head into User Settings > Voice & Video on the desktop app. Once there, scroll down to “Video Background” and you’ll see the 7th Birthday video background! 

Like Party Mode, the 7th Birthday video background will be available until May 16, 2022, so hop into a call and bring the party to your friends while it’s around! 
Never used a video background in Discord before? Learn all about ‘em at our help center. 

The Party Doesn’t Start Until You Show Up — Join Us! 

Before we leave you to enjoy the festivities, we wanted to give a shoutout to one long-standing Discord community in particular:

Thousands of dedicated community members and volunteers collaborated on a project called “ThankYouDiscord,” gathering a staggering amount of names for a big ol’ 7th birthday card that they made into a real, physical banner. Check out the nearly-17,000 community signatures collected for the final banner over at thankyoudiscord-webhook-relay-6q9nx.thz.cool.

We hope you’ll be able to check out the celebrations throughout the weekend. From confetti and poolside vibes inside the app to repping Discord outside of it, there’s something for both the hard-partying and the soft-celebrating alike. 

It’s been a wonderful seven years. Every day, we get to build a place where close friends come together, relationships are built, and just saying “hi” can lead to a lifetime of memories. We’re so thankful to be a part of all your journeys. Thank you — and here’s to many more years together.