It seems that Disney has recently made some kind of deal that made Petroglyph add some interesting updates to the Steam version of the game. Here's their developer note about this subject:
A note from the developer.
Hi Everyone,
We have continued to watch the EAW community closely over the years and appreciate all the excellent support you have given us and the game. Thanks to all of you for the great feedback, awesome mod packs, and overwhelmingly positive reviews.
Check out the full press release here.
Here is a list of improvements made to the game.
· Steam multiplayer support in both FOC and EAW
· Enabled selection/list of player mods on hard drive, including mods via Steamworks
· Enabled windowed mode support
· Additional bug fixes and optimizations
We hope you enjoy this special update.
- Petroglyph
In a small note: the original multiplayer worked with GameSpy, which is gone for a very long time already.