Epic Games has announced a number of new features on its online store to make it easier to connect and play with friends. Player profiles, group chats and a recently optimized search tool to find friends will all be arriving at the store in 2021. This comes as part of a larger post on the company’s website sharing that social features would be a “big priority” while Epic looks at how to improve the platform.
The biggest features announced will not be released this month. This includes the newly introduced “Party System”, which will allow people to chat in groups for voice and text while playing. As part of this new feature set, players will be able to create “party windows” that allow them to share highlights of the game with friends, as well as “start a game with just a few friends in the group and, at the same time, keep talking with your entire group. ”The announcement did not mention a specific release date for the Party System, other than the 2021 launch window.
As for what will come out it is month, there are a lot of additions that will adjust the platform. This month will bring “Player Cards” that work like most profiles on other platforms, allowing users to manage friends, as well as offering a “Do Not Disturb” mode to silence notifications. To make it easier to find friends, Epic is improving the search engine to bring friends in common. The store is also adding a minimized version of the social panel so that you can interact with it while browsing, without having to open a new window.
Initially, when Epic launched its gaming platform, it was difficult to sell to many fans, in part because it didn’t offer as many features as Steam. However, the company remains committed to developing the platform over time, and these future features will take some significant steps towards closing the gap between it and other platforms like Steam.