Epic Games launches Epic Parties for cross-platform voice chat

Epic Games has launched Epic Parties, a voice chat feature that keeps conversations active across Fortnite, the Epic Games Store and the Epic Games app. The feature lets players join and remain in a single voice conversation while moving between Epic services and devices.

Users can start a chat in the Epic Games app or the Epic Games Store and continue the same call when a member opens Fortnite. The voice connection transfers between the app, the store and the game, so players do not need to start a new call when they switch activities.

Epic Parties supports cross-platform communication. Players on different devices can stay in the same voice chat. On mobile devices, background voice chat keeps users connected when they switch away from a game or app, allowing one person to play while another browses or uses a different title.

When a player accepts an Epic Party invitation while playing Fortnite, the group is placed in the same game lobby. That automatic lobby placement removes the manual step of searching for friends after joining a voice chat and speeds the transition from chatting to playing.

Players can invite friends from their friends list. Existing text conversations can be converted into voice chats by selecting the “Start Party” button inside a chat window. Epic Parties builds on text chat tools Epic Games added across its services last year.

Epic described the feature as designed to keep conversations continuous for groups that move between Epic services and to make it easier for friends on different platforms to coordinate play sessions.