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Play local multiplayer games on Steam over the internet

3 min. read

Updated onOctober 4, 2023

updated onOctober 4, 2023

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Key notes

TheSteamclientreceived a majorupdatewhere it introduced a new feature calledRemote Play Together, which is designed to allow users to play local multiplayergamesonSteamover the internet.

The feature has passed through the beta stage and is now live on theSteamclient.

How do I play local multiplayer on Steam?

How do I play local multiplayer on Steam?

You will need to update theSteamclient to the latest version, as Remote Play Together is now out of Beta. This means that to play local multiplayergamesonSteamover the internet, you and your friends will need the latest update to the client.

Keep in mind that only certain games support this feature. That being said, the list is thousands of titles long and more are being added, so you will have a wide selection to choose from.

If you want to see the complete list of local multiplayer titles available onSteam, check out theSteam Store page.

Steam not connecting to the server? Don’t worry, we have you covered.

How does Remote Play Together work?

Once you start aSteamRemote Play session on yourPCand invite friends to join agame, all the game activity is captured on yourPCand sent to the otherplayer‘s computers.

The otherplayerswill then see the image of thegame, as well as the UI input, similar to an interactivestreamingsession. Voice and chat will also work just like in any normal game session.

Remote Play acts as a form of streaming, where one player hosts thegameon theirPCand projects it on the screens of everyone else. Everyone else will see the image and control thegameas if they had it.

One advantage of this feature is that only the host needs to have a copy of thegame, which makes Remote Play all the more desirable by those that can’t afford an extensivegaminglibrary.

Additionally, Remote Play also allows users with low-endPCsto enjoy otherwise resource-intensive titles.

What do I need to host a Remote Play session?

For a properstreamingexperience, UDP ports 27031 and 27036, and the TCP ports 27036 and 27037 need to be open. TheSteam clientneeds to listen to these ports in the firewall of thePC, as well as the router or modem.

It goes without saying that since you will be running agamenot only for yourself but others as well, that yourPCneeds to have no problem running multiple sessions of a givengame.

Additionally, since you’ll bestreamingall of your content, a wired Internet connection is preferred.Steamalso recommends that clients should have a GPU that supports hardware-accelerated H264 encoding.

For more information onSteamRemote Play Together and how to play local multiplayergamesonSteamover the internet, you can visit theofficial support page.

Remote Play plays homage to LAN parties

In many aspects, Remote Play acts like an advanced form of a Virtual Gaming Network such asGameranger,Garena, orHamachi. The only difference is that the host is the only one that needs to have a copy of thegame.

Do you thinkSteam‘s Remote Play will bring back the glory days ofLANpartying? Let us know in the comments section below.

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More about the topics:Steam Guides

Teodor Nechita

Eager to help those in need, Teodor writes articles daily on subjects regarding Windows, Xbox, and all things tech-related.

When not working, you may usually find him either at the gym or taking a stroll in the park, trying to find inspiration for the next articles he may write.

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