Life without crossplay was a sad time for online gaming with friends. With many games releasing across multiple platforms and your mates buying their preferred mode, meeting up to take on the big boss was more complicated than it should have been.
Of course, crossplay is an increasingly common feature in our favourite games, but there are still hurdles even with just PC gaming. Epic Games fans have not been able to team up with their Steam buddies. Until now.
What is Crossplay?
Quick and easy: crossplay is the ability to play the same game across different platforms. For example, one friend is playing Rocket League on the PlayStation 5, another is a die-hard Nintendo fan and using the Switch, whilst you are playing from your gaming PC. All three of you are able to meet up and play against or with each other thanks to crossplay.
The quality-of-life feature for all.
Steam/Epic Games Crossplay
Despite both being PC gaming platforms, until recently, you could not play with a friend who’d downloaded a game from Steam if you’d purchased the same title from Epic Games. This is due to the fact that when developers port their games to different stores, each has their own set of services and account systems. As a result, crossplay was not possible because the systems were not interoperable.
As of June 16th 2022, that has changed. Epic Games has released the first in a series of plug-and-play crossplay services, making it easier for developers to get their games connected across as many platforms as possible.
What does this mean for gamers?
Nice and simple, it means that you and your friends can play together whether you bought off Epic Games or Steam.
Here’s what Simon Allaeys, Senior Director of Online Services at Epic Games, has to say about the feature:
“Crossplay gives all friends the opportunity to come together and create fond memories across interactive experiences. We are in the fortunate position to drive change in the industry with crossplay tools for all developers and we believe that connecting friends and communities will take the gaming industry to its next major growth spurt and its next billion players.”
Simon Allaeys, Senior Director of Online Services at Epic Games
Epic Games has created an in-game overlay that features your friend lists from both platforms. All you have to do is invite your friend to play. Additionally, this overlay will feature a search function, enabling you to send and receive friend requests, and join multiplayer games from whichever platform it’s played.
Steam or Epic Games, your session will work seamlessly. No need for additional accounts or hefty patch updates.
The Future of Gaming
In their full blog, Epic Games is very clear that this is only the beginning. They are developing this feature to work across other stores, macOS, and Linux. There are even plans to include consoles and mobile devices after that. Very exciting times for cross-platform squads and their gaming goals.
What are your thoughts on crossplay? Let us know in the comments below.
- 3 min read
Emily Haylock
Author
Emily is a board and cosy gamer, keyboard obsessive, and content copywriter for Overclockers UK. She has been with Overclockers UK since 2020, writing about everything from noblechairs to 8Pack PCs. She writes from within her desk nest with a foster pup at her feet. (What, a desk duvet is a totally normal thing!) In her downtime, she likes to play board games, farming sims, and old-school Final Fantasy. IX to be specific. It is the best, and that is a hill she will die on.
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