The reasons why PC gamers will never switch from Discord to Steam chat

Finding time to play with your friends can be difficult, especially if you’re managing work, school, and daily errands. But when you get the chance to sit down and play a few rounds of “Call of Duty” or any other group game on Steam, Discord has made it pretty simple to chat with your fellow gamers. Yet even though Steam Chat is integrated directly through the popular Steam online store, players seem to choose Discord as their primary way to communicate while gaming.

Discord allows users to create groups to discuss their favorite topics, including video games. It offers the ability to customize text, voice, and video channels so users can chat with each other while playing games together. Users must have a Discord account to use the platform.

Steam Chat works the same but only allows chat rooms for text and audio conversations. Users can create multiple chat rooms and invite their Steam friends to join them, but only through Steam on a web browser or the Steam client.

Steam’s restrictions are one of the reasons why Discord has become a favorite app among gamers. Discord is ultimately easier to access and it includes more features. Online forums contain threads discussing both platforms, including why some people end up abandoning Discord as well.

For die-hard Discord fans, there are several reasons why they use the platform over Steam Chat. Reddit threads include discussions about cross-compatibility, a theme that comes up often around Discord. Many gamers find that although they prefer to play on PC, their group of friends play on consoles like Xbox or PlayStation. Discord lets everyone use the same app on their phone without worrying about who’s playing on which system.

Other threads online point out that Discord offers more chat features not found in Steam Chat. For example, Discord does not delete chat history from any chat rooms on the platform, while users claim that Steam Chat on PC and the mobile app only records chats for up to two weeks.

Another important feature that users say makes Discord better than Steam Chat is voice chat. Yes, both platforms include it, but the Steam Chat mobile app, for some reason, does not include voice chat. This limits users to being able to text only through the app. The Discord app and web browser allow you to use voice, text, and video chat. Discord is also often used for purposes other than gaming, with people connecting for work, school, etc. Additionally, Discord’s massive burst with one of its updates also makes it better than Steam.

Steam Chat is a useful platform for anyone who plays on PC through the Steam client. It’s integrated directly into Steam, so the user just needs to click on it from the Steam PC app. Bringing this feature to Steam makes it more accessible to PC gamers. But its lack of other features, such as video chat and easy connections between consoles, reduces its competition with Discord.

Steam Chat could add a few features that could make it more versatile, increasing its likelihood of being a rival to Discord. For starters, Valve, the company that owns Steam, could add video chat functionality to the entire ecosystem. This would allow players to see each other when playing board games. Other additions would include adding voice chat to the mobile app and having a way to stream the game to viewers, such as on Discord channels.

Overall, users find Steam Chat to be rather basic compared to the suite of features Discord offers. Both require a username to log in and use, but Discord isn’t limited to Steam. However, Discord plans to restrict accounts unless you provide identification, in the name of child safety. But once on the platform, you have access to much more than Steam Chat.