Today Epic announced that throughout 2019 they will be launching a large set of cross-platform game services built originally with Fortnite. These services, built across 7 platforms and tested with over 200 million players will be free for all developers and open to all engines, platforms, and stores. All services will also be operated in a privacy-friendly, GPDR-compliant manner.
The service will launch with a C SDK providing access to the online services along with Unreal Engine and Unity integrations.
Services will include:
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Cross-Platform Login, Friends, Presence, Profile, and Entitlements (coming Q2-Q3 2019 to PC, other platforms throughout 2019): Provides the core functionality for persistently recognizing players across multiple sessions and devices; identifying friends; and managing free and paid item entitlements. This will support all 7 major platforms (PC, Mac, iOS, Android, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch) to the full extent each platform allows per-title.
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PC/Mac Overlay API (coming Q3 2019): Provides a user interface for login, friends, and other features in a game-agnostic, engine-agnostic way.
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Cross-Platform Voice Comms (coming Q3 2019 to all platforms): Epic is building a new in-game voice communications service supporting all platforms, all stores, and all engines, which will be available for free. (For developers needing an immediately-available voice solution, check out Discord, Vivox, TeamSpeak, Ventrilo, and Mumble.)
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Cross-Platform Parties and Matchmaking (coming Q3-4 2019 to all platforms)
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Cross-Platform Data Storage, Cloud-Saved Games (coming Q2 2019)
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Cross-Platform Achievements and Trophies (coming Q3 2019)
Learn more from the Epic blog.
