If most of your friends are PC gamers, you can now stay in touch via Steam chat even if you’re hundreds of miles away from a gaming computer. Valve has released Steam Chat as a free download for iOS and Android.
Like the desktop version released last year, Steam Chat for smartphones lets you stay in touch with your friends in much the same way you do on PC, only without voice support, which should be coming soon.
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Otherwise, it’s all pretty fully featured, with support for video, tweets, GIFs, Giphy and Steam emoticons. You can see your whole friends list and what they’re playing at a glance, helping you decide whether it’s worth logging onto your PC or not, and there’s room for group chats as well.
Obviously one of the big draws here is notifications, so you need never miss out on a game about to start. These are customisable on a friend, group chat or channel level, meaning you only need be pestered by those you want to hear from.
It’s been a good year for Steam gamers looking for more mobile options. Just last week, Valve launched its Steam Link app for iOS, letting iPhone owners stream games to their phones when on the same WiFi connection. And Valve has plans afoot to let you stream your games remotely, too.
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Next, it’s going to work on its main Steam app, apparently. “With Steam Chat moving to its own dedicated app, the original Steam Mobile app will see significant upgrades focused on account security,” the company wrote. “Our plans include better Steam Guard options to help securely log into your Steam account, such as QR codes and one-touch login, and improved app navigation.”
You can download Steam Chat now. Here’s the iOS link, and here’s the Android version.
Will you be downloading Steam Chat? Let us know on Twitter: @TrustedReviews.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
