Steam and the Epic Games Store are two of the biggest online gaming platforms and now there's a way to connect them. Game developers and players can take advantage of a new offer from Epic Online Services by downloading Crossplay Tools for free. This will allow Steam users to play a shared game with Epic Games users and vice-versa.
The Epic Crossplay Tools
As gaming has expanded and become more diverse, multiple servers have been set up for different online services. This includes Steam and the Epic Games Store, which are competitors, but Epic seeks to change that with their Crossplay Tools. By going on to Epic Online Services, people will be able to download these tools free of charge. Once installed, users will be able to play online with Epic and Steam versions of a game no matter which one they're using. The tools also come with account linking to transfer friend lists, automatic updates for games to enable crossplay, and a developer-centric tool making it easier to implement crossplay.
One of the primary marketing tactics consoles and gaming platforms use to appeal to potential users is exclusivity. There are certain games that can only be played on a designated platform, which limits accessibility. Although many games are available on various platforms and consoles that have online capabilities, players can often only play with others on the same platform. With crossplay, this eliminates the restriction. There has been a significant rise in the number of games that allow people to play online no matter what they're using and the Epic Online Services tools are a big contributor to that.
Though the current tools are currently limited to connected Steam and Epic users, there are plans to implement versions that allow for console and mobile crossplay. For now, PC players get a helpful online update for their games while devs get a chance to test out crossplay on their projects.
