Gaming platform Steam has rolled out a new version of its text and voice chat features in an effort to compete with popular chat app Discord. The new social features, which were launched in beta in June, mimic many of the popular aspects of Discord, which has become the chat app of choice among gamers since it launched just over three years ago.

The new Steam updates focus on design and chat versatility, improving how chat is integrated into games and enabling users to share GIFs, social links, video and more within Steam Chat. The update also provides users with additional tools for managing chats and friends, enabling users to sort friends by favourites, group friends by which games they play, and maintain more fully-featured group chats, similar to Discords various servers.

Developer tools shared as part of the update also allow games makers to include rich, in-game information that Steam Chat can access, letting users know details such as where friends are within a game, if theyre available for online play and what party they are playing with. Finally, the firm has improved its voice chat capabilities, improving audio quality thanks to the WebRTC-based backend, and ensuring that all voice traffic is encrypted and IP-protected.

While Steam has become the de facto storefront for desktop gaming, it has struggled to connect to the mobile world, with a recent app aimed at addressing that gap rejected by Apple. Discord, which boasts over 130m registered users, could potentially rival Steam if it chose to move into the game distribution space. With first-party data on a vast cross-section of gaming fans, Discord potentially has an advantage over even established gaming brands like Electronic Arts, Microsoft or Ubisoft, all of which operate their own digital storefronts and user authentication platforms.