Steam’s next big feature will make any “local multiplayer” game work online

Enlarge / With Steam's new upcoming feature, dubbed Remote Play Together, you can turn any "local multiplayer" game into a connected experience. (credit: Valve)

On Wednesday, Steam sent a stealth news update to developers about a surprise new feature coming to Steam as soon as October 21: "Remote Play Together." The feature will transform any "local multiplayer" video game into an online one, and this will work by having the primary player stream their game to up to three other friends-meaning, other players won't have to buy a copy to join in.

As of press time, the emailed update has been posted on a Unity development forum, and it spells out how the feature will work, along with how developers can opt in to its upcoming public beta. The news was later confirmed by Valve developer Alden Kroll as authentic. Valve has yet to otherwise post its own announcement.

Once the beta goes live, players can pull up the Steam Overlay (shift + tab on a keyboard) while playing a Steam game with any form of "local multiplayer" support and load their friends list. Once you send a Remote Play Together invite, "it's just like handing a second controller to a friend," according to the Valve email.

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