Epic Games and Steam: Crossplay coming soon? New developer tool presented

Steam, the Epic Games Store, Ubisoft Connect or rather Origin? The market offers a number of launchers and related stores. You can’t choose freely for every game, but many prefer to have it under one roof. Now, of all things, Epic, known for its exclusive deals, has advanced with a developer tool that is supposed to bring the different platforms together.

Cross-play functionality is apparently just one of several features. Because the tool also promises the merger of friend lists, the linking of accounts and a common user interface. The topic of cross-play is of course the focus of the announcement. Among other things, it says there: “The integration of crossplay in Fortnite, Rocket League and most recently Fall Guys has shown us that players who can team up with their friends have more fun and play more often.”

Epic vs. Steam: hurdles to be overcome

According to Epic, all friends should be brought together in one overlay, whether it’s the Epic Games Store or Steam. A cross-platform search is just as possible as invitations. Instead of fiddling with passwords, Epic says Steam players can jump into a game with just a few clicks while creating an Epic Games account under the hood. Developers would have a free hand as to the extent to which they implement which services.

Also interesting: Free in the Epic Games Store: 96% approval for Made in Germany

The developer tool is currently only available for the PC platform, but according to Epic, it already has the console market in mind. Other stores or launchers on the PC should also be included, but initially only the market leader Steam, which belongs to Valve, is compatible with the tool in addition to the in-house Epic Games Store.

It is surprising that Epic, of all people, is tearing down the barrier between the launchers, after all, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney had repeatedly dealt out against Valve’s market power. The Epic Games Store regularly caused a stir with exclusive deals and tempting free games. Ultimately, however, the cross-play feature should follow the same agenda: less sales on Steam, more on the part of Epics. The common UI should probably make it easier for users to also consider other shops. Meanwhile, Epic’s approach is not entirely new: GOG Galaxy also promises to bring together different launchers in one user interface.

Source: epic