The Vivox voice chat communication SDK is now available to all Nintendo Switch developers.
Voice chat has long been a problem for Nintendo consoles, and the Switch is no exception.
Without support for voice communication at a hardware level, players have to use the Nintendo Switch Online mobile app – or more likely, Discord – to speak with their friends while playing first-party Nintendo games. The app works well enough, but it’s not an elegant solution to something solved by other console manufacturers years ago.
Massachusetts-based Vivox is aiming to change all that with the announcement that all authorised Nintendo Switch developers can now sign up to use their proprietary online communication software. The Vivox SDK enables voice chat directly through the Switch’s combination headset port, and also supports cross-play chat with PC and other gaming devices.
Epic’s Fortnite already uses Vivox, and Hi-Rez Studio is soon to implement the SDK for the Switch versions of Smite and Paladins.
Dave Verratti, president of Vivox, says:
“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. Multiplayer games can and should excel on Nintendo Switch, and we’re excited to see the results of the Vivox SDK on Nintendo Switch.”
Developers can head over to the Vivox website to register their interest.
