Massachusetts-based tech company Vivox announced on Tuesday that all authorized Nintendo Switch developers can now use its SDK for text and voice chat. This allows third-party developers to provide chat capabilities in multiplayer games through headsets plugged directly into the console.
The company also stated that the chat tools are cross-platform compatible with PCs and other consoles, which enhances the social aspects of gameplay. With the addition of the Switch, the communications technology now covers all the major gaming platforms. This will grow in importance as more games become include cross-platform play in the future.
The news coincidentally follows Unity’s acquisition of Vivox in January but is not directly related to it. Vivox is fast becoming a favorite among developers, especially since it was made free for small and independent developers last year.
Current games that use Vivox technology include Fortnite, Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG), League of Legends, Rainbow Six Siege and more. Hi-Rez Studios will also use Vivox to add voice chat to its free-to-play games Paladins and Smite on Switch.
In a statement, Vivox president Dave Verratti said, “We’ve already seen a great deal of success with Nintendo and the use of our voice services in Fortnite. We are extremely proud to be a part of the Nintendo ecosystem. We’re happy to help Nintendo continue to push the envelope in their products by bringing gamers together through enhanced communications.”
