Twitter Inc. also expressed interest in buying Discord, people with knowledge of the matter said. Other companies discussed a takeover or investment in Discord in recent weeks, with some talks valuing the chat company as high as $15 billion to $18 billion, two people said.

Representatives for Discord, Microsoft and Twitter declined to comment.

Place to Talk

San Francisco-based Discord is best known for its free service that lets gamers communicate by video, voice and text. People stuck at home during the pandemic have increasingly used its technology for study groups, dance classes, book clubs and other virtual gatherings.

It has been expanding its communication tools to turn it into a “place to talk” rather than merely a gamer-centric chat platform.

Bloomberg News initially reported the Microsoft-Discord talks and that Discord was more likely to do an an initial public offering. Discord has also held discussions with Epic Games Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. in the past, people familiar with the matter have said.

The Wall Street Journal earlier reported on sales talks ending.

Microsoft remains busy on the deals front. Earlier this month, it said it would buy speech-recognition pioneer Nuance Communications Inc. in an all-cash deal valued at $19.6 billion.

Last year, it tried to buy social-media app TikTok and held talks to acquire Pinterest Inc., as it looked for assets that would provide access to thriving communities of users, people familiar with the matter have said. Microsoft’s Xbox business has also been expanding the suite of subscription perks it provides as part of its Game Pass offering.