Discord cofounder Jason Citron, 40, said on Wednesday that he will be stepping down as CEO of the messaging platform.
“I’ll be transitioning to a new role as board member and advisor, and continuing to support Discord through this next chapter,” Citron wrote in an X post on Wednesday. “I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve built together — and even more excited for what’s ahead.”
Citron told the tech news publication VentureBeat that he doesn’t have any concrete post-retirement plans lined up, though he will be spending more time with his family and on gaming.
“I don’t have specific plans for myself. I’ll maybe take a bit of a break to spend time with my kids,” Citron said, adding there were three games on his to-play list.
“I need to finish Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. I have a backlog. I want to play Blue Prince. I haven’t even played Baldur’s Gate III, believe it or not,” Citron said.
“Rebirth” is the 2024 sequel to the blockbuster “Final Fantasy VII” remake, a landmark release by the Japanese studio Square Enix.
Meanwhile, “Baldur’s Gate III,” a fantasy adventuring game based loosely on “Dungeons & Dragons” mechanics, was released in August 2023 to wide acclaim.
“Blue Prince,” meanwhile, is a mystery and puzzle adventure game in which the player traverses a family estate in an attempt to find the ever-elusive 46th room.
Discord said in a statement on the same day that the former vice chairman of Activision Blizzard, Humam Sakhnini, will be taking over from Citron as CEO from April 28. Citron cofounded Discord in 2015 with Stanislav Vishnevskiy.
“The job of a CEO is constantly evolving, and over the years I have continuously ‘hired myself out of a job.’ Usually, that means delegating work and then taking on different leadership challenges,” Citron said in a blog post to Discord employees on Wednesday.
“However, as I look at what is needed of Discord’s CEO over the next few years, I realize that it’s time for me to literally ‘hire myself out of a job,'” Citron continued.
Citron said in his interview with VentureBeat that his decision to step back was based on who could “take Discord to the next level.”
“As you know, I’m more of a builder, an early-stage kind of guy,” Citron said.
Citron’s departure sets him apart from most young tech founders who have continued to captain the companies they founded.
Mark Zuckerberg, 40, continues to helm Meta, the social media company he cofounded in 2004. Evan Spiegel, 34, cofounded Snapchat in 2011 and remains its CEO.
When approached for comment, a representative for Discord pointed Business Insider to Citron’s blog and X posts.
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