#32 – Tom Gayner: How Top Game Studios Monetize Discord Communities

Want to turn your Discord community into a revenue-generating machine?

In this episode of The Gaming Playbook, I sit down with Tom Gayner, CEO of Levellr, who’s helped Scopely, Krafton, and even the NFL build high-performing Discord communities.

We dive into the most common mistakes studios make, why Discord users are 6x more valuable, and how AI is revolutionizing community management.

If you’re a game studio, this is your blueprint for building a self-sustaining, monetized community.

Connect with Tom:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomgayner/
Website: https://www.levellr.com/

Connect with Harry:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hphokou/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@hphokou
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hphokou

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Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
01:44 Why most studios ignore Discord
05:48 Data: Discord users = 6x more valuable
11:57 Pre-launch Discord strategy
15:06 Creating organic player-to-player interaction
17:02 Minimum requirements before launching a Discord
20:10 What resource investment actually looks like
23:04 How Levellr started & why it matters now
27:40 AI's breakthrough in community insight grouping
30:42 Querying your own Discord like a knowledge base
32:28 Fastest way to get 1,000 engaged members
34:08 Game/Discord integration examples
37:56 Best way to hire a community manager
42:32 Is Discord ROI Real or Just Hype?
46:16 The Fear of Backlash (And Why It's Wrong)
49:25 The Future of Discord in Game Publishing
52:34 Getting Insights from Player-Run Discords
55:02 Community Advice for Publishers
56:18 How to reach Tom & final thoughts

#GameDev #DiscordCommunity #RetentionStrategy #CommunityGrowth