Many gaming communities rely on Discord, whether it’s a small group of friends or something much larger. You may also know that a significant number of developers use Discord as an official hub for game news and discussion. However, the news yesterday of impending face scans or ID checks for all users has left people scrambling for alternatives.

Users in the UK and Australia have already been subject to age verification. Starting in March, users who do not validate their age (presumably 18+) will be assigned what is referred to as “teen-by-default” status, which blocks age-restricted content. Since the official announcement, searches online for “Discord alternatives” have jumped 10,000%, says Windows Central.

Matrix, Stoat (formerly Revolt), and TeamSpeak searches are way up

After a massive growth in Google searches for Discord alternatives in the United States, we’re starting to see particular names crop up. For example, searches for “Matrix” and “Matrix Discord” have both risen by 450% in the past week, while searches for Stoat (formerly known as Revolt) have grown by up to 850%. The company says it received a cease & desist against using the ‘Revolt’ name, hence the change a few months back.

TeamSpeak has also been in the mix, though its current stable version may not be seen as a true alternative by many gamers. A new TeamSpeak client has been in the works for a while in beta, featuring a new UI and chat features, but as of now, TeamSpeak 3 remains the stable version of the software. TS3 has a noticeably older look and fewer Discord-like features.

TeamSpeak’s social media team (or person) is always looking for some way to make fun of Discord. The VoIP software was long favored by gamers before Discord took the spotlight by offering many more features to cater to larger communities, such as dedicated text channels and live broadcasts. TeamSpeak continues to pride itself on the “best voice quality available,” along with better security, low latency, and low resource usage, but servers must be paid/rented for or self-hosted.

As for Martix and Stoat, these can be seen as more ‘true’ alternatives if you’re looking for a similar experience to Discord, though it’s easy to point out they have less brand recognition for the time being – though that may soon change given what we’ve seen with Google Trends.

Discord has since posted an update on social media to clarify a few things about the update, notably the fact that many users can continue to use the service as normal, provided they don’t wish to access age-restricted content.

About the Author

Jack Goodall

At PC Guide, Jack is mostly responsible for reporting on hardware deals. He also specializes in monitors, TVs, and headsets and can be found putting his findings together in a review or best-of guide.