Steam makes ‘local multiplayer over the web’ available to all users

Steam has released Remote Play Together, a feature that allows players to play together online as if they were in the same room. The function was already available for a limited group of users as a test in recent weeks.

People who have a supported game installed can invite contacts via Steam. They do not need to have purchased or installed the game, says Valve. Moreover, it now works not only on Windows, macOS and Linux, but also on Android and iOS.

The feature has been in beta for a month. In addition, users of the Steam Beta client were able to test the feature, but other users were not yet able to. Remote Play Together works post-invitation by having controllers of the invited players 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 recommends 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.