Group chats and dedicated voice rooms are coming to Steam

The world’s most popular PC gaming platform is overhauling its built-in chat system.

The world’s most popular PC gaming platform is overhauling its built-in chat system.

Steam, which had a peak of almost 18,5 million users in January, 2018, will now allow players to share media files, and create group chats through the service’s friend list.

The most considerable change is the ability to create chat groups on the fly. Previously, parties on Steam were simply removed after the gaming session, but now, users will be able to save parties even after the session is over—making it easy to reconnect in the future. Groups will also feature fully customization voice channels. Groups will also have a unique URL, meaning users can simply link any new group members if they wish for them to join.

Other features include a more detailed friends list, which now groups friends after which game they are currently playing—as well as what stage of the game their friends are currently in. Meaning users can easily catch whether or not a friend has just started the game, or is in the middle of a match. The friend list will also show if a friend is currently already in a party.

Additionally, the new Steam chat also has web browser integration, meaning players won’t have to even start Steam in order to chat with users on their friend list.

The overhaul was launched on June 12, and is currently in its beta-stage.