Discord revamps overlay and desktop to make PC gaming easier

Discord announced a series of updates for the desktop app that help make PC gaming easier and work better for players.

The company is releasing a completely new version of the Game Overlay with expanded game support and better performance, along with a refreshed look for the desktop app that brings new ways to tweak and customize Discord to make it work best for players.

This follows a couple of updates last week during the Game Developers Conferencewhere it introduced a new mobile ad format and a social SDK.

Introducing the new Game Overlay

Discord rebuilt the Game Overlay from the ground up to help make talking with friends while playing your favorite games smoother.

Previously, the Overlay worked best by “hooking” itself directly into your game’s window, sacrificing game performance in the process. This new version of the Overlay delivers a snappier, faster experience, focused around what you care about most.

The next time you open the Overlay, you’ll notice everything is now individual widgets instead of “Discord, but in the Overlay,” and a new action bar helps you reach your voice and video controls, start streaming your game in one click, or join a voice call if you’re not currently in one.

You can watch your friend’s game streams directly in the Overlay. Make any online game feel as if you were playing in split-screen with your friends sitting alongside you, no matter how far away they are.

And since everything is a widget, you can move all the parts of the Overlay where you want them to fit for the type of game you play — RTS? FPS? (yes, it’s that good). Adapt it to your needs.

Plus, since Discord is no longer trying to shove the Overlay directly into your game and angering the anti-cheat gods. The Game Overlay works on more titles, including a larger portion of the most-played games on Discord. If you need any help while trying out the new Overlay, check it out here.

Desktop gets a refresh

Customization can be the most important aspect of any game, from how your character looks in-game to accessibility and controls.

Today, Discord is rolling out a lightweight desktop refresh that brings you more customization options and introduces some previously mobile-only options to desktop.

The company is expanding its selection of desktop base themes, increasing the amount of free themes to four: Light, Ash, Dark, and Onyx (aka more dark themes). Three new UI Density options, Spacious, Default, and Compact, will let you adjust the overall spacing for comfort and clarity.

Plus, the channel list is finally resizable, perfect for reading channels with longer names like #?-general-discussion-memes-are-banned-here, so you can proudly post memes in there — just as the mods intended.

While you’re in a call, the refreshed desktop app has more centralized controls for voice and video settings, with more of the buttons collected into a single bar for easier access. Discord is also making it more obvious when your mic or camera is on or off with stronger color indication — stronger red glow when your mic is muted and a new green glow when your camera is “active.”

Lastly, you’ll also notice refreshed colors and illustrations throughout the app.

All of these updates are meant to enhance legibility, reduce the feeling of being overwhelmed by visual noise, and maintain consistency across desktop and mobile devices. Here’s a support article if you’d like some guidance on the desktop app’s new appearance options.

With over 72% of Discord users regularly gaming on PC, Discord’s focus continues to be enhancing everyone’s experience on desktop, whether it’s before, during, or after the game. From the faster, stronger Game Overlay, to additional customization options for the desktop client, PC gaming just got a huge upgrade, the company said.

Discord plans updates throughout the year to help your time playing games on Discord the best it can be, the company said.