Epic Games has confirmed that cross-play across PC storefronts is mandatory for every multiplayer game listed on the Epic Games Store.
In a statement with Eurogamer, the company said “Cross-play across all PC storefronts is a requirement of the Epic Games Store for all multiplayer games, ensuring that players and friends can play together wherever they purchase their games. Developers are free to choose any solutions that meet this requirement, including Epic Online Services, which may require a secondary installation to enable the Social Overlay (friends lists, cross-platform invites, etc) on PC.”
This statement was made to provide clarification regarding Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II‘s use of Epic online services. The game installs an Epic Online Services client the moment the player accepts an end-user license agreement (EULA), even on Steam. In a forum post, Developer Focus confirmed that Epic client facilitates syncs friend lists and facilitates optional cross-play across services. But linking Epic and Steam accounts is optional and won’t affect the gameplay.
Fortnite is one of Epic Games’s most successful titles, and the developer made it a priority at launch in 2017 to ensure it supported cross-play across every platform. Although Sony initially rejected the idea for PlayStation consoles, they eventually caved in to support the feature.