A few weeks later, Discord Quest will be DMing and Twitch-dropping servers and rewarding friends for streaming games.

Discord said in a blog post that the new feature is the platform's solution for developers who are struggling to "break through and turn their ideas into a successful business." Like your favorite streamer, you can join street teams for various games and earn a paycheck from exclusive skins and other cosmetic items.

The post does not mention what games will have quests, but states that developers and publishers who partner with Discord will have access to tools to create them. Quests will be "tastefully displayed" in the app for "some players" and friends will be alerted when they accept them. And you need to find a server that won't ban you for self-promotion, or find a friend who can stand to watch you play the game long enough to get the skin.

Last year, Epic gave Discord users a Star Wars-themed weapon skin if they streamed Fortnite for more than 15 minutes. Apparently "millions" of Discord users participated in this experiment, and Discord decided to open it up to more developers.

I am struggling to reconcile Discord's goal of "deepening friendships by playing games" with the ability to incentivize friends to help you earn Fortnite skins. Game screen sharing is one of the last ad-free pastimes that can be enjoyed with friends online, and the threat of that time becoming transactional must be addressed. Already I can see the server channels filling up with people begging for someone to help them finish their quests.

Apparently nothing is free from being monetized on Discord now. In the same post, Discord also states that they will work with developers to create profile effects and avatar decorations in their store. I understand the appeal of showing off your favorite game or character in your bio, but paying for fancy icons directly from the source is much less cool than having your favorite artist do it for you. The forum signature was cool because someone else made it, not because it was $6.99 in the store.

According to Discord, both quests and new store items will start showing up in a few weeks, so get ready for privacy settings.