In its recent blog post, Epic announced that the crossplay overlay, introduced last summer for PC, now includes support for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch games.
Additionally, the overlay’s capabilities are being further enhanced on platforms it already supports, such as the Epic Games Store and Steam. This expansion means that the Epic Online Services crossplay overlay now seamlessly functions across Steam, Microsoft Xbox, Nintendo Switch, Sony PlayStation, and Epic Games Store, enabling players to connect across the vast network of over 750 million Epic Games accounts.
“Crossplay enables bigger games, bigger audiences, and growth for the global games industry. With the added support for the major console platforms, Epic Online Services now enables you to connect more players with a single overlay,” said Epic.
Developers familiar with crossplay game development understand the complexity involved in creating a seamless experience. With the crossplay overlay, any game has the ability to allow players to log in to their Epic Games account across all platforms and effortlessly engage with their friends. Here’s a breakdown of the key features:
Consistent Overlay User Experience: An intuitive overlay that offers a familiar interface on both PC and console platforms.
Unified Friends List: Merging friend lists from various platforms into a single overlay, simplifying friend interactions.
Effortless Cross-Platform Account Setup: Players can swiftly start playing using their existing Epic Games account or a new one, linked to their native platform account.
Integrated Game Invitations: Within the game, players can easily search for and send invites to friends across platforms, ensuring seamless connections.
Secure Social Interaction on All Platforms: Adhering to the trust, safety, and privacy guidelines of native platforms, along with Epic’s own controls.
Modular SDK: Similar to other Epic Online Services, the crossplay tools are modular, allowing developers to tailor their implementation according to their needs.
The Epic Online Services toolkit follows a plug-and-play approach, enabling developers to select and combine the desired services while leaving out the rest. This concept extends to the crossplay tools as well.
