Steam, the main PC gaming eStore, will soon allow you to play local-only multiplayer games with friends over the internet. How, you might ask? Well, through a client-side update, of course! Valve, through a software update called Remote Play Together, will soon enable the ability to play what were once local-only multiplayer games with friends over the internet.
Gamers can soon play local-only multiplayer games with all
One main drawback of the internet age and online gaming is that some titles have been left in the dust with local-only multiplayer. While it’s not always an issue with a console, as you can easily grab four controllers, PC games suffer from this specifically. It’s fairly difficult to get four people around a desk, all taking turns sitting in the computer chair and using the keyboard and more. Or, even worse, trying to hook up multiple sets of peripherals, hoping your computer keeps them straight, and huddling around your small computer screen.
How does Steam Remote Play Together work?
Through a client update to Steam, Valve is enabling online multiplayer on all local multiplayer games, though developers can choose to opt-out, should they desire. This works by one player being the host, and everyone else connecting to that person’s computer. Steam will send the visual portion of the game back to everyone’s computer from the host’s machine. Through the software, everybody’s controller, keyboard, and mouse input will be sent back to the host’s computer. As far as the game itself knows, you’re all sitting at home on the same computer.
Make sure you have a solid internet connection
It goes without saying, but if you’re going to be a host, then make sure you have a solid internet connection. You’ll have multiple computers watching what yours is doing, and you’ll have to receive quite a bit of data to process this. So, if you’re the friend with a slower computer, let someone else be player 1 this time around.
This is beta, for now, so there could be bugs
This is just a beta feature according to Valve. This means there could be bugs. If the latency from a slow computer or internet connection kills you or a friend or maybe makes you lose a race, it’s not the developer’s fault. Keep in mind that Valve will likely be perfecting this software over the course of the coming weeks, months, and years to become a killer feature, but right now, it’s brand new.
Valve’s Steam Remote Play Together launches October 21st
Remote Play Together will be available on Steam starting October 21st, according to reports from TechCrunch and PC Gamer.
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