About DirectPlay

The Microsoft® DirectPlay® application programming interface (API) for Microsoft Windows® lets developers create multiplayer games, game servers, chat clients, and other network applications without writing code for individual transports, protocols, or online services.

DirectPlay provides services for:

• Establishing a connection between computers through a network, over the Internet, or by a modem.
• Communicating through a lobby where participants can meet one another and organize sessions.
• Creating and joining sessions.
• Managing players and groups within a session.
• Harmonizing the session state on different computers through the exchange of messages.