The new feature supports any type of local multiplayer

Oct 21, 2019 22:04 GMT  ·  By

Valve is bringing a brand new feature to Steam users who love to play games together with their friends. The new feature is called Remote Play Together and is only available in beta for the moment, but even so, it provides a host of new options that weren't possible before.

First off, with Remote Play Together, players can now invite Steam Friends to join their local co-op, local multiplayer, and shared/split-screen games online. At the moment, up to four players can instantly join the host's gaming session.

More importantly, and we know this will be the best thing about the new feature, only the host needs to own and install the game, while additional players connect through Steam Remote Play streaming technology.

Before you invite your friends to play with you though, you'll have to join the Steam Beta. After you've joined Steam Beta, launch any of your local multiplayer games, and start inviting your friends from your Friends list in the Steam Overlay. Then, select Remote Play Together and once they accept, you'll be able to start playing together.

Keep in mind though that their controllers will act as if they're plugged directly into your computer, and all your voice chat and game volume options are available in one place. According to Valve, only the game will be displayed to your Friends, never your desktop or other personal data that you want to keep … personal.

However, you can share, or limit access to, the keyboard and mouse. To sum it up, with Remote Play Together you can play local multiplayer games with Steam Friends online, stream video, audio, input, and voice between players, use your own controllers, or share control of the keyboard & mouse, as well as play together across PC, Mac, and Linux.

Since the new feature is still in the beta, Valve's engineers will continue to improve network stability and compatibility across a variety of hardware, based on the feedback provided by players.