Game Friends Design Guidelines

We've heard from players that they want more of a distinction between connections they make in-game, and friends they spend time with on Discord outside of and across games. Someone I party up with may not necessarily be my "friend".

Users want more controls over how in-game relationships extend beyond the game client with communication, presence, and identity.

Discord is introducing a new tier of friendship called Game Friends.

Game Friends are a way to create an in-game relationship with another player that provides all of the in-game benefits, but limits how the relationship extends outside the game.

A Game Friend can reach Discord-connected friends outside the game by DMing those in the game who are offline — these messages will be received on the Discord client. Discord provides players a setting to disable receiving DMs from Game Friends.

A Game Friend cannot see your rich presence beyond the game your friendship originated in. The exception is if both friends have their Discord accounts connected and are in a shared server.

When adding a new friend, present two options to players with "Game Friends" listed first, since it's the more localized/limited friend-tier. Please ensure that neither type of friend is pre-selected in the UI — present them equally to the user (ordering aside for above reasons).

If the user is not yet a friend, show both options of adding as either a Game or Discord Friend.

If a user is already your Game Friend, show the action to also add them on Discord.

When removing a Game Friend or Discord Friend, show players the standard "Remove Friend" action. The SDK will remove the friend across whatever friendships are applicable.

When removing a Game Friend or Discord Friend, show players the standard "Remove Friend" action. The SDK will remove the friend across whatever friendships are applicable.

The visual styling of the "Add Friend" menu-items is not intended to be prescriptive. So long as both options are equally-weighted, please use whichever UI fits your game's needs.

This mock showcases how the corresponding DM looks within Discord's UI.

• Development Guide: Managing Relationships