This third-party retro UI for Discord looks like—and even runs on—Windows 98

Windows 98 - A customer looks at a box in Japan

(Image credit: Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP via Getty Images)

Have you ever wanted your Discord client to look like it was made in the halcyon days of the mid-to-late 1990s? Complete with windows form buttons and gradient-blue topbar? Of course you have. One crew of programmers have cooked up just that as a cute project: They call it... Discord Messenger for Windows! It's a "free Discord-compatible messaging client that works on almost 30 years of Windows."

Which, yes, means that it works on your old computers all the way back to Windows 98SE, per creator iProgramInCpp—and apparently even Windows 95 if you get creative with some extra addons. It's such a delightful little project, a piece of subversive and practical programming art that blends modern API-based applications with an enthusiasm for the operating systems of the past.

Screenshot of a third-party Discord client that makes the messenger appear in the style of a late 90s Windows program user interface — (Image credit: Discord and iProgramMC)

Perhaps the best part of the creation is that they've really committed to the bit for their art project: iProgramInCpp has even made a faux-90s website with simple text and images just like the ones of the era.

There's one thing to note before you rush out to live your alternate reality 1998: Third-party Discord clients are technically against Discord's Terms of Service. It's not on anyone but you if you get an account banned from Discord for playing around with them.

You can find "Discord Messenger for Windows" on GitHub.

Jon Bolding is a games writer and critic with an extensive background in strategy games. When he's not on his PC, he can be found playing every tabletop game under the sun.