author: Miriam Moszczynska
Steam and Epic Games Store Crossplay Now Possible
Epic Games Store has given developers the tools to bring crossplay to their games. The platform has also begun working with Steam, making it easier for users to play games together.
Steam and Epic Games Store are breaking the ice. The latter has released developer tools to bring crossplay to their games. The cross-platform gaming option can be used starting today.
Tools for developers
Epic Online Services is now available on Windows, macOS, and Linux PCs. In the announcement linked above we also read that EOS will enable cross-play with users of consoles and mobile devices. However, these options will appear a little later.
What is important, EOS enables developers to introduce cross-platform play to any game - it doesn't matter what engine powers it. The possibility of cross-platform play is not affected by the platform or store where the game will debut.
PC crossplay Steam/EGS
Epic Games has outlined the key features that EOS offers. These are:
- A common friends tab for Steam and EGS users;
- Integrated game invitations - friends can send them between Steam and EGS;
- Account merging - Steam players won't have to fiddle with logging into EGS. As the announcement reads, it will only take a few clicks to get into the game.
EOS does not require manual updates. The overlay that allows for cross-platform gaming will be updated automatically. Developers are free to choose from Epic Online Service tools and implement only the ones they need.
There are quite a few options, and the cooperation of the two platforms will definitely bring profts not only for the developers, but also for the players. So there is nothing left but to test crossplay and look forward to the promised connection to consoles and mobile devices.