If you are a gamer, you probably launch Discord before you launch any other game on your desktop gaming setup or even a gaming laptop. Discord has been the go-to communication service for gamers for years now and it doesn’t feel like it is going to be replaced anytime soon. It is because of some of the fancy and highly important features that come with Discord such as private voice chat rooms, game integration, video call support, screen sharing, and much more.
However, a large chunk of console gamers has been missing out on this great social network platform as Discord isn’t natively available for PlayStation consoles. However, Sony has recently shown interest in Discord and also made a significant investment in the platform with plans to integrate it with their console very soon.
Even though the app itself is still not available for consoles, we have gathered all the information about what you need to know in order to connect your console with Discord and use it. So, make sure you read our guide until the end to find out.
Discord on PS4 and PS5
PS4 and PS5 are undeniably some of the highest-selling consoles in the history of console gaming. So, there is certainly a significant portion of gamers who are enjoying their favorite games on the console for a spectacular gaming experience.
But, we can all agree on the fact that you can’t truly enjoy multiplayer or co-op games without communicating with your teammates. While a lot of games do offer their own native voice chat function, it is not on par with services like Discord.
As you may already know, Discord hasn’t officially landed yet on the PlayStation store as a native app. With that coming in future all we can do is wait with optimism that the app will be developed soon enough to offer a flawless preference.
However, there are still some features of Discord that you can access from PlayStation without the native app support. It includes connecting your Discord account with PSN or directly reading Discord text alerts from your console.
If you are also interested in using the voice chat feature from your console, we have a couple of workarounds just for that. In case you aren’t willing to wait for the official release of the app, you can try out these workarounds and get the benefit of communicating with your team and gaining a competitive advantage in your gaming sessions.
How To Check Discord Messages on PlayStation
Voice chat in games has only become a thing in the past decade or so. If there are any old-school gamers in the house, we can all agree on the fact that gamers were equally enjoyable before, if not more.
And even now, a lot of users tend to stay away from voice chat due to the increasing toxicity and hatred that we usually come across in online gaming culture. Instead, it is far better for most users to simply use text chats to convey important chunks of information.
If you also prefer using text messages over voice chat, here’s how you can use Discord text message service on PlayStation. But for this to work, both you and your friend must have an active PSN account so that you can send general text messages.
- First of all, open the PlayStation party and open the text chat window where you would usually send a text message to your friend.
- In the chat box, simply type “www.discord.com” and send the text to your friend.
- Keep in mind that this step is not necessary on PS4 as it has a native browser that directly allows you to open discord web.
- Once you send the text message, both you and your friend will receive a pop-up notification to open discord.com.
- Click on that and wait for the console to open the link in the web browser.
- Now, you will be greeted by a familiar interface of discord web. Sign in to your Discord account with your credential so that you can access your account.
- You can click on “Open Discord in your browser” to start using Discord services directly from the browser.
- It is done. You can now directly check Discord notifications from your PS4 or PS5. Even though this method is not the most ideal one, it certainly beats waiting around for the release of the native app.
How To Get Discord on PlayStation Right Now
Even though the native app is not yet released for Sony consoles, there are a few workarounds available on the internet that allows you to use the platform and its features on the consoles. Though these workarounds might seem a little complicated, these methods have proven to be fruitful for a lot of users. So, if you are also consistent about trying out discord on your console right now, check out these workarounds and see if any of these methods work out for you.
By Using The Mix Amp
This is a rather complicated method and also a premium one as you will have to purchase the MixAmp for it. Apart from that, you will need a few more things to carry out the process. Here’s what you need to use Discord from your PlayStation:
1. A Computer (Desktop or Laptop, either will work)
Now that you know Discord is not available for PlayStation OS, you will have to use a Windows computer to use the platform and its features.
2. A USB Headset
Instead of using any other device for your audio IN/OUT, we will suggest getting a decent USB headset, preferably a gaming headset since most gaming headset models offer a decent microphone along with powerful primary drivers.
3. Mix Amp
This is the most important part of the process since it allows you to connect your console’s sound directly to your Windows computer. You can also fine-tune the sound settings from the device directly according to your personal preference. We will not recommend buying a new one just for the sake of Discord. However, you can use one if you already have one in your collection.
4. Optical Audio Cable
This cable is also important as it will be transmitting high-quality audio signals between the 2 devices. You should go with a high-quality cable if you don’t want to compromise on the sound quality.
Once you have all that, you can start following the steps provided here.
- Use the optical cable to connect the PS to the MixAmp hardware.
- Head over to the PS5 settings and open the “Sound and Screen” section.
- Here, select “Audio Output Settings” since all audio related settings are here.
- In this list, make sure you select the “optical out” option.
Now that the setup on PS is complete, go to your PC for next steps:
- Launch discord on your computer
- Open Discord settings by clicking on the small gear icon on the right of your profile name.
- Choose the “Voice & Video” section from the left-hand side menu.
- At the top, you will see drop-down menus for input and output devices. Select “MixAmp” from the list of input choices.
- As for the output, keep it on the default speakers.
- Now, make sure that your headset is connected to your MixAmp.
Now, you will be able to hear audio from both Discord as well as your console in the headset. You will definitely need to fine-tune the volumes on both platforms to get proper response.
By Using The PS Remote Play Feature
Even though the workaround mentioned above is a foolproof method, it can get a little excessive since not all of us have a MixAmp just lying around. So, we have one more workaround which might compromise your gaming experience a little bit, but you will be able to use Discord natively and access all of its features.
For this method to work, you will have to access the PS Remote Play feature. This is a free service offered by Sony that lets you play your favorite console-exclusive PS games on any device like your desktop computer, laptop, or even your smartphone. All you will have to do is install the PS Remote Play application, log in with your PS account and connect it to your PS4 or PS5. In the background, you use Discord as you would for any other Desktop or mobile game.
But as we mentioned before, the gaming experience is not ideal when you are using PS Remote Play. First of all, there is always a bit of latency, which varies based on your internet bandwidth capacity. You can always reduce the bitrate or quality of the stream to fix the latency, but then you will be missing out on the visual treat these games offer.
Integration of PSN With Discord
While you wait for the official release of Discord for consoles, Discord has recently introduced support for the PSN network in the recent update. With that, you will be able to utilize the “Rich Presence” feature of discord where it will show your current activity on discord, even if you are not actively using the platform.
To integrate your PSN account with Discord, follow these steps:
- Open Discord settings and head over to the “Connections” section.
- Here, you can manage integration of your Discord account with various other services such as Paypal, Reddit, Steam, Twitter, PSN, Facebook, etc.
- Since we are working with PSN integration, click on the PSN logo to proceed.
- Now, simply log in with your PSN account credentials.
- Once you successfully log in to your PSN account, Discord will show your PSN info on the “Connections” page.
Once that is done, your PSN account is now linked to your Discord account.
Problems with Discord on PlayStation?
A lot of users have reported problems with PSN and Discord integration recently. Since this is a new feature, there are a couple of bugs and problems with the service that interferes with the connection. Thus, most users aren’t able to show their PS activity over Discord. One of the common reasons behind that is the PSN privacy settings. Here’s how you can fix that.
- Head over to your Sony account management page from your web browser and click on the “Privacy Settings” section from the left side.
- Here, you will find various different options regarding your privacy. Click on the “Personal Info” section so that you can edit your Privacy settings.
- Now, you will see a handful of options regarding your personal info shared over PSN.
- Click on the “Edit” button present on the right side of “Online Status and Now Playing” since Discord needs that to show your activity.
- Change the privacy settings to “Anyone” so that Discord can show your game activity on its platform.
Conclusion
Today, we have looked at how you can use Discord and some of its most important features with your console. If you are a desktop gamer switching to console gaming, you will certainly miss using Discord natively since it is probably the only social networking platform gamers need. But while the official launch of Discord is on the horizon, you can try out one of our workarounds to use Discord with your console right now. You can also link your PSN account with your Discord account so that you can take advantage of the “Rich Presence” feature of Discord. You will find all the necessary information about these topics in our guide today. If you have any doubt, you can reach us via the comment section below.
