Discord has officially launched its new virtual incentive system, Orbs, to users worldwide. The system provides users with an entirely new way to earn platform benefits (including advanced subscription service Nitro) without real consumption. After a small-scale test conducted at the beginning of the year, all users were covered on line.
Users can earn Orbs by doing their job. These tasks take a variety of forms and are light, such as trying games, watching trailers or using specific Discord functions. Accumulation of sufficient Orbs allows exchange of benefits in “reward shops” for three days of Nitro subscription.
In addition to Nitro, the store offers a variety of unique virtual items, including personal data badges, decorative elements and visual effects. These incentive items will remain permanently and be tied to the user’s Discord account and cannot be transferred to another person. Users can find tasks that can be performed in the applied Discover tab page or the popup Task Bar.
The core design concept of Orbs is to build user participation rather than encourage consumption. It is deeply tied to the Discord account: it cannot buy or give, it is prohibited to trade, it cannot exchange cash, partner brand items or long-term Nitro subscription schemes. In short, Orbs has no real world monetary value.
Currently, the system only supports the desktop end (applications and browser versions) and is not open for mobile end access. For users, the most significant benefit is undoubtedly free access to Nitro Service — Discord’s fee-based subscription service, which provides benefits such as high-resolution live broadcasts, self-defined emoticons and greater upload restrictions.
This time, the Orbs system went online following another major update in July by Discord: the ceiling for individual server membership was significantly raised from 500,000 to 2.5 million. At present, the Orbs system is being rolled out on a global scale, and please look forward to it.
