Valve Releases Steam Beta for Local Online Multiplayer Feature

Valve has released the beta period of the so-called Remote Play Together feature. That means users can play local co-op games with their friends over the internet. The idea is for users to play with others over the Internet as if they were in one room together.

Valve says the Remote Play Together feature makes it possible to invite friends to play local multiplayer games, local co-op games and split screen games online. This option is basically open to up to four players, with only the host having to own the game; the other participating players use streaming via Steam Remote Play.

To take advantage of this, players must join the Steam beta, launch one of the local multiplayer games, and then invite one or more friends from the Steam friends list to Remote Play Together. Once that is done, the controllers of the invited players will behave as if they were attached to the host’s computer. Valve emphasizes that only the game played is shown to the invited friends; so they don’t see the desktop, for example. Access to the mouse and keyboard can be shared or restricted.

Valve previously recommended using an internet connection with a download speed of at least 10 to 30Mbit/s for the function to work. According to the company, thousands of titles should support Remote Play Together and developers are free to build in support. The technology is not limited to just Windows PCs; a user streaming a session through Windows 10 can invite friends using Linux or a Mac. The supported platforms do not go further than this list for the time being.