Cross-play a.k.a cross-platform multiplayer capabilities seems to be the way the gaming industry is heading, as more and more gamers look for newer and easier ways to play with their friends.
Although Sony was originally pretty much against the idea, it seems even they’ve had to give in to what its users want, allowing for cross-play with Epic Games’ Fortnite.
As for Nintendo and Microsoft? They’ve been more than happy to allow it, and it seems that Valve might be heading the same way.
People suspect that Steam could be joining forces with Xbox thanks to a recent Steam update that suggests a “deeper cross-platform integration” could be on the way [via Windows Central].
The leak, posted to ResetEra, shows what looks to be references to Xbox Live identifies, leading to speculation that a standardised form of cross-play could soon be available.
Although there are currently some Steam and Xbox Live games are capable of cross-play right now, there’s nothing as standard in Valve’s Steamworks developer toolset.
It’s definitely an interesting route for Steam to take, especially considering its newest competitor in the online games market – the Epic Games Store.
Aside from offering its users two free games a month, the new Epic Games Store promises to make its cross-play development tools available to all.
The announcement from Epic states: “At Epic, our goal is to help game developers succeed. Throughout 2019, we’ll be launching a large set of cross-platform game services originally built for Fortnite, and battle-tested with 200,000,000 players across 7 platforms.
“These services will be free for all developers, and will be open to all engines, all platforms, and all stores. As a developer, you’re free to choose mix-and-match solutions from Epic and others as you wish.”
Read the info in full right here.
In 2019 Epic will launch cross-platform online services built for Fortnite to game developers on all engines, all platforms & all stores:https://t.co/YmOLWySfDm
— Dana Cowley (@danacowley) December 12, 2018
As for Steam and Xbox? Valve or Microsoft are yet to comment on the speculation.
Would you like to see this happen?