Epic Games brings cross-platform voice chat to Fortnite and its services
Epic Games has launched Epic Parties, a new cross-platform voice chat feature that lets players stay connected across Fortnite, the Epic Games Store and the Epic Games app. The update matters because it removes friction from switching between socialising and playing, allowing a conversation to move seamlessly from Epic's app or store into an active Fortnite match without players needing to reconnect. It builds on Epic's ongoing push to unify communication tools across its ecosystem, regardless of which platform or device each player is using.
Voice chats can continue in the background on mobile or while playing other Epic Games Store titles, and anyone accepting a party invite is automatically placed in the same Fortnite lobby as their friends. The feature extends the text chat system Epic rolled out last year, with players able to invite friends from their list and convert an existing text conversation into a voice call using a new "Start Party" button.
- Epic Games launches cross-platform Epic Parties voice chat feature
- Chats transfer seamlessly between Fortnite, Epic Store and app
- Builds on last year's text chat rollout across Epic's ecosystem
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Epic Games is the American company behind Fortnite, the hugely popular free-to-play video game, as well as its own digital storefront, the Epic Games Store, and a companion Epic Games app. All three sit within a wider ecosystem the company has been trying to make feel more joined-up, so that players' friends lists, chats and progress follow them around rather than being tied to a single game or platform.
Voice chat itself is not new to gaming, but until now it has typically been confined to whichever app or game a player happens to be using at the time, meaning conversations get cut off when someone switches between socialising and actually playing. Epic's move to link voice chat across its store, app and Fortnite reflects a broader trend among game companies of trying to keep players within their own ecosystem of products, competing with rival social and gaming platforms that offer similar always-on connectivity.