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Jason Citron

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Jason Citron
Citron at TechCrunch Disrupt in 2018
Born (1984-09-21) September 21, 1984 (age 41)
San Francisco, California, U.S.
EducationFull Sail University (BS)
Occupations
  • Businessman
  • Entrepreneur
Years active2008–present
Known forCo-founding Discord and founding OpenFeint

Jason Citron (born September 21, 1984) is an American businessman and entrepreneur best known as the co-founder and former chief executive officer of the social communication platform Discord.[1][2] He is also the founder of OpenFeint, one of the earliest major social gaming networks for mobile devices.[3]

Early life and education

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Jason Citron was born on September 21, 1984,[4] in San Francisco, California, to a family with a background in business and technology, later growing up in South Florida.[5][6][7] He became interested in technology after being gifted a computer by his grandfather, as well as his love of video games, citing Final Fantasy VI as his favorite game and that "I was a Squaresoft fanboy, and I still am." He learned how to write code in QBasic at the age of 13 with the help of a friend, with his first program being a text-based role-playing game.[5] He later attended Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Game Design and Development in 2004. He was inducted into the Full Sail University Hall of Fame in March 2025.[8][9]

Career

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OpenFeint

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In 2009, Citron founded OpenFeint, a social gaming platform for mobile games that allowed players to connect through achievements, leaderboards, messaging features, and multiplayer integration. The service grew rapidly during the rise of the iPhone and the App Store, eventually becoming one of the largest mobile gaming networks in the world, with tens of millions of users and support across thousands of games.[10]

In 2011, OpenFeint was acquired by Japanese media and gaming company GREE for approximately $104 million. Following the acquisition, Citron briefly remained involved with the company before departing to pursue new projects in online gaming and communication technology.

Discord

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After leaving OpenFeint, Citron co-founded the game development studio Hammer & Chisel. The company initially focused on creating multiplayer online games, including the multiplayer online battle arena game Fates Forever, which was released in 2014.[11] During development, the team became dissatisfied with existing voice and text communication software available to gamers, citing problems with usability, latency, and reliability.[12]

After leaving OpenFeint, Citron co-founded the game development studio Hammer & Chisel. During development of the multiplayer game Fates Forever, the company created an internal communication platform that later evolved into Discord, which launched publicly in 2015. Under Citron's leadership, Discord expanded beyond gaming communities and became a widely used online communication platform.[13]

Under Citron's leadership, Discord expanded far beyond gaming and became widely used by students, hobbyist groups, creators, businesses, developers, and online communities. The platform experienced especially rapid growth during the late 2010s and early 2020s, becoming one of the largest communication platforms on the internet. Discord also introduced features including livestreaming, forum channels, subscription communities, application integrations, and developer tools.

Citron frequently emphasized building Discord as a platform focused on private communities and social interaction rather than algorithm-driven public social media feeds. He also oversaw the company's moderation, trust and safety, and monetization initiatives as the platform continued to expand globally.

Public appearances and advocacy

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Citron has appeared at technology conferences and industry events, including TechCrunch Disrupt, and has spoken publicly on subjects such as online communities, gaming culture, digital communication, and platform moderation. In 2024, he testified before the United States Senate Judiciary Committee alongside executives from several major technology companies during hearings related to online child safety and social media regulation.[14]

Citron (left) at TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco, California in 2018

Public testimony and safety initiatives (2023–2024)

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Citron represented Discord at a United States Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on 31 January 2024 titled “Big Tech and the Online Child Sexual Exploitation Crisis,” submitting written testimony on Discord’s trust & safety practices and youth protection features.[15][16] During 2023–2024 Discord announced or expanded several teen-safety measures, including the opt-in Family Center for parents and guardians and the Teen Safety Assist initiative (safety alerts on new DMs and sensitive-media blurring, enabled by default for teens).[17][18][19]

Restructuring and scale (2024)

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In January 2024 Citron announced a workforce reduction of about 17% (170 employees) to “sharpen [Discord’s] focus” following rapid headcount growth since 2020.[20][21] Around this period Citron cited “a little over 200 million monthly active users” globally and 870 employees.[22]

IPO considerations and advertising business (2024–2025)

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Reports in early 2025 indicated Discord was in early talks with banks about a potential public listing; the company was last valued at $15 billion in a 2021 fundraising round.[23] In 2024 Discord also began cautiously expanding advertising beyond its subscriptions-led model, introducing Quests and later a Video Quests format aimed primarily at game publishers.[24]

Stepping down from Discord (April 2025)

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Citron announced in April 2025 that he was stepping down as Discord's CEO but will remain on the board of directors. He was succeeded as CEO by Humam Sakhnini, who was the former president of Activision Blizzard and King.[25]

References

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  1. ^ Patel, Nilay (April 22, 2024). "Discord CEO Jason Citron on why gaming and group chats are the future of the internet". The Verge. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  2. ^ "2023 TIME100 Next: Jason Citron". Time. September 13, 2023. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  3. ^ "Mark Zuckerberg, Jason Citron more tech CEOs make opening remarks at child safety hearing - CBS News". CBS News. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  4. ^ Citron, Jason [@jasoncitron] (September 21, 2009). "Thanks everyone for all the birthday wishes. Now I'm officially old. #25 ;-)" (Tweet). Retrieved May 9, 2024 – via Twitter.
  5. ^ a b Newnham, Danielle (August 24, 2022). "Interview with Jason Citron, Founder of OpenFeint". Medium. Retrieved March 29, 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  6. ^ "Discord Was Once The Alt-Right's Favorite Chat App. Now It's Gone Mainstream And Scored A New $3.5 Billion Valuation". Forbes. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
  7. ^ "Why a $10bn Discord sale might not be in tune with the messaging platform's fans". news.sky.com/. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
  8. ^ "Jason Citron | Hall of Fame". Retrieved February 27, 2026.
  9. ^ "Hall of Fame Inductee Jason Citron Leads Discord with Employees First". Retrieved February 27, 2026.
  10. ^ "GREE Acquires OpenFeint for $104 Million". TechCrunch. April 22, 2011. Retrieved May 16, 2026.
  11. ^ Takahashi, Dean (February 10, 2015). "Fates Forever mobile game maker toaster raises funding from Benchmark and Tencent". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on May 5, 2016. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
  12. ^ Browning, Kellen (December 29, 2021). "How Discord, Born From an Obscure Game, Became a Social Hub for Young People". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  13. ^ "Passing the Torch". Discord Blog. Retrieved April 23, 2025.
  14. ^ "Tech CEOs testify before Senate Judiciary Committee". CBS News. Retrieved May 16, 2026.
  15. ^ "Big Tech and the Online Child Sexual Exploitation Crisis". U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. January 31, 2024. Retrieved September 3, 2025.
  16. ^ "Testimony of Jason Citron, CEO and Co-Founder, Discord Inc" (PDF). U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. January 31, 2024. Retrieved September 3, 2025.
  17. ^ "Stay Connected With Your Teen Using Discord's Family Center". Discord Blog. July 11, 2023. Retrieved September 3, 2025.
  18. ^ "Building a Safer Place for Teens to Hang Out". Discord Safety. October 24, 2023. Retrieved September 3, 2025.
  19. ^ "Safer Internet Day 2024". Discord Safety. February 6, 2024. Retrieved September 3, 2025.
  20. ^ "Discord lays off 17 percent of employees". The Verge. January 11, 2024. Retrieved September 3, 2025.
  21. ^ "Discord is laying off 170 employees as its CEO says the workforce grew too quickly". Business Insider. January 11, 2024. Retrieved September 3, 2025.
  22. ^ "Discord now has more than 200m monthly active users globally". Music Ally. April 23, 2024. Retrieved September 3, 2025.
  23. ^ "Gaming chat platform Discord in early talks with banks about public listing". Financial Times. March 24, 2025. Retrieved September 3, 2025.
  24. ^ "Discord is launching its second ad product as it aims to bring advertising revenue 'on par' with subscriptions". Business Insider. October 4, 2024. Retrieved September 3, 2025.
  25. ^ Discord (April 23, 2025). "Discord Appoints Humam Sakhnini as Chief Executive Officer". Discord. Archived from the original on April 23, 2025. Retrieved April 23, 2025.