Are you tired of the limitations imposed on sharing your Steam library with friends and family? Do you yearn to break free from these restrictions and revel in the joy of shared gaming experiences? You’re not alone! Steam, the gaming behemoth, has introduced an innovative solution to this age-old problem – Family Sharing. With this groundbreaking feature, you can effortlessly grant access to your extensive game collection, allowing your loved ones to indulge in thrilling adventures without the hassle of purchasing their own copies. Join us as we embark on a comprehensive guide to Family Sharing, unlocking the secrets to seamless game sharing and creating a world where gaming knows no boundaries.
Steam Family Sharing allows you to designate up to 5 different accounts as part of your “Family & Friends” group. Once these accounts are added, they gain access to your entire library of games, as long as you are offline. This means that your friends and family can play all of your games without having to buy them themselves. It’s a great way to share the cost of games with people you trust, and it’s also a great way to let people try out games before they decide if they want to buy them. However, it’s important to note that Family Sharing only works if you are offline. If you are online, only you can access your games.
Enabling Family Sharing is a straightforward process that requires minimal effort. Firstly, navigate to the “Settings” menu within the Steam client. Subsequently, select the “Family” tab and click on the “Manage Family Sharing” button. You will be presented with a list of accounts that have been authorized to access your library. To add an account, simply enter their Steam username or email address in the designated field. Once the account has been added, they will receive an email notification informing them of their newfound access to your game collection. It’s worth noting that you can revoke access to your library at any time by removing the account from the “Family & Friends” group.
Linking Your Steam Accounts
To share your Steam library with another account, the first step is to link the two accounts. This process is straightforward and only takes a few minutes.
Here are the steps on how to link your Steam accounts:
1. Log in to your primary Steam account
This is the account that owns the games you want to share. Once you are logged in, click on your username in the top right corner of the Steam window. From the dropdown menu, select “Account Details”.
On the Account Details page, scroll down to the “Family Sharing” section. Click on the “Manage Family Sharing” button.
2. Add the other Steam account
On the Family Sharing page, you will see a list of all the Steam accounts that are linked to your primary account. To add another account, click on the “Add another account” button.
A dialog box will appear, asking you to enter the username or email address of the other account. Enter the information and click on the “Add” button.
3. Authorize the other account
Once you have added the other account, Steam will send an authorization email to that account. The email will contain a link that the other user must click to authorize the connection.
Once the other user has authorized the connection, the two accounts will be linked and you will be able to share your Steam library with them.
| Step | Description |
|---|---|
| 1 | Log in to your primary Steam account |
| 2 | Add the other Steam account |
| 3 | Authorize the other account |
Using Family Sharing
Steam Family Sharing allows you to share your Steam library with up to five other accounts. This is a great way to let family members or friends play your games without having to purchase them separately. To use Family Sharing, you’ll need to authorize each account that you want to share your library with. You can do this by following these steps:
- Log into your Steam account.
- Click on the “Settings” tab.
- Go to the “Family” tab.
- Click on the “Authorize This Computer” button.
- Enter a 5-digit code that will be displayed on the other account’s computer.
- Once the authorization is complete, the other account will be able to access your Steam library.
There are a few important things to keep in mind when using Family Sharing:
- Only one account can play a game at a time.
- You can only share games that you have purchased yourself.
- Family Sharing does not allow you to share DLC.
- You can only authorize a maximum of five accounts to share your library with at any given time.
Here’s a table summarizing the key points about Family Sharing:
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Number of accounts | Up to 5 |
| Games shared | Only games you own |
| DLC | Not shared |
| Play simultaneously | No |
Enabling Content Sharing
To enable content sharing on Steam, you need to follow these steps:
1. Open Steam and sign in to your account
2. Click on the “Steam” menu and select “Settings”
3. Select the “Family” tab and then click on the “Add Family Member” button
A window will pop up asking you to enter the name of the person you want to share your library with. Enter their name and click on the “Add” button.
Once you have added the person to your family, you need to grant them permission to share your library. To do this, click on the “Manage Family Sharing” link in the Family tab.
A list of all the family members you have added will appear. Find the person you want to share your library with and click on the “Manage Family Sharing” button next to their name.
On the next screen, you can choose which games you want to share with the person. By default, all of your games will be shared, but you can uncheck any games that you don’t want to share.
Once you have selected the games you want to share, click on the “Save Changes” button. The person you have added will now be able to access your shared games from their own Steam account.
Setting up Remote Play Together
1. Check compatibility
Ensure that both your friend and you own the game you intend to play together. Additionally, Remote Play Together requires a stable internet connection for both players.
2. Enable Remote Play
Launch the Steam client on your computer. Navigate to “Settings” > “Remote Play” and enable the feature. Repeat this step on your friend’s computer as well.
3. Invite your friend
Open the Steam client and navigate to your friend’s profile. Click on the “Invite to Remote Play” option to send an invitation. Have your friend accept the invitation.
4. Configure settings and start playing
Once your friend joins, you can configure the gameplay settings. Choose the desired resolution, frame rate, and other options to enhance the experience. You can also adjust the audio settings to ensure both players have a clear communication channel.
To start playing, select the game from your Steam library and click on the “Remote Play Together” button. Note that both players must have the game installed and updated to the latest version.
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Resolution | Adjusts the display resolution for the remote player. |
| Frame Rate | Sets the target frame rate for a smoother gaming experience. |
| Controller Support | Allows both players to use controllers for the game. |
| Audio Settings | Configure the audio channels and microphone settings for communication. |
Transferring Purchased Games
To transfer purchased games from one Steam account to another, you’ll need to follow these steps:
- Sign into your Steam account that owns the games you want to transfer.
- Go to your Steam Library and select the games you want to transfer.
- Right-click on the selected games and select the “Manage” option.
- In the “Manage” menu, select the “Remove Purchased Games” option.
- Confirm the removal of the games by selecting the “OK” button in the pop-up window.
Note: The games will be permanently removed from your account and cannot be recovered. Ensure you have a backup before proceeding. - Sign into the Steam account where you want to receive the transferred games.
- Go to your Steam Library and select the “Games” menu.
- Select the “Add a Game” option and then select the “Activate a Product on Steam” option.
- Follow the on-screen instructions to activate the games using the product keys provided by the original account holder.
- Once activated, the transferred games will appear in your Steam Library.
Using the Family Manager Role
With Family Share, you can provide access to your gaming library to up to five other Steam accounts. Here’s how you can set up Family Sharing using the Family Manager role:
1. Click on your Steam profile name in the top right corner of the Steam client and select “Family.”
2. Select “Manage Family” and then “Add a Family Member.”
3. Enter the email address or Steam ID of the person you want to add as a family member.
4. Click “Send Invitation.”
5. The recipient will receive an email inviting them to join your family. They need to accept the invitation and log in to their Steam account to complete the process.
6. Once the family member has accepted the invitation, you can enable Family Sharing for them:
If you want to give your family member full access to all your games, follow these steps:
- Click on “My Library” in the Steam client.
- Right-click on a game and select “Manage” or “Properties.”
- Go to the “Sharing” tab.
- Check the box next to “Allow this game to be shared with other accounts on this computer.”
- Click “OK.”
If you want to give your family member access to only certain games, follow these steps:
- Click on “Friend List” in the Steam client.
- Find the family member you want to share games with and click on their name.
- Select “Manage Family Sharing.”
- Check the boxes next to the games you want to share.
- Click “OK.”
- Click on the “View” menu in the top menu bar.
- Select “Shared Libraries.”
- Click on the “View” menu in the top menu bar.
- Select “Shared Libraries.”
- Right-click on the library you want to remove.
- Select “Remove Shared Library.”
- Click on the “View” menu in the top menu bar.
- Select “Shared Libraries.”
- Right-click on the library you want to change.
- Select “Shared Library Settings.”
- You can only share your library with up to 10 other people.
- You can only share your library with friends who are on your Steam friends list.
- You can only share your library with people who are using the same version of Steam as you.
- Open the Steam client and click on the “Steam” menu.
- Select “Settings” from the drop-down menu.
- Click on the “Family” tab.
- Check the box next to “Enable Family Sharing”.
- Click on the “Manage Family Sharing” button.
- Add the users you want to share your library with.
- Open the Steam client and click on the “Steam” menu.
- Select “Settings” from the drop-down menu.
- Click on the “Family” tab.
- Click on the “Manage Family Sharing” button.
- Click on the “Add Another Account” button.
- Enter the username of the user you want to add.
- Click on the “Send Invite” button.
- Open the Steam client and click on the “Steam” menu.
- Select “Settings” from the drop-down menu.
- Click on the “Family” tab.
- Click on the “Manage Family Sharing” button.
- Select the user you want to remove.
- Click on the “Remove User” button.
Here is a table summarizing the different roles in Family Share:
| Role | Permissions |
|---|---|
| Family Manager | Can add and remove family members, manage game sharing settings, and view family activity. |
| Family Member | Can access games shared by the Family Manager, but cannot add or remove family members or change sharing settings. |
Managing Shared Libraries
Once you’ve enabled library sharing, you can manage your shared libraries through the Steam client.
To view your shared libraries:
This will show a list of all the libraries that you have shared with other users. You can click on a library to view its contents.
To remove a shared library:
To change the settings for a shared library:
This will open a dialog box where you can change the settings for the shared library, such as who can access it and what restrictions are in place.
Here are some additional details about shared libraries:
| Setting | Description | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allow access to all games | This setting allows all users who have access to your library to play any of your games. If you disable this setting, you can specify which users are allowed to play specific games. | ||||||
| Allow access to all DLC | This setting allows all users who have access to your library to play any of your DLC. If you disable this setting, you can specify which users are allowed to play specific DLCs. | ||||||
| Allow access to all save games | This setting allows all users who have access to your library to access all of your save games. If you disable this setting, you can specify which users are allowed to access specific save games. | ||||||
| Allow remote play | This setting allows all users who have access to your library to remotely play your games. This feature requires that both you and the other user have a stable internet connection. | ||||||
| Tip | Description |
|---|---|
| Use a shared library manager. | There are a number of shared library managers available that can make it easier to manage your shared library. These managers can help you to track who is using your library, set restrictions on who can access your library, and more. |
| Keep your Steam client up to date. | Steam regularly releases updates that can improve the performance and security of your shared library. It is important to keep your Steam client up to date to ensure that you are using the latest features and security patches. |
| Be aware of the Steam family sharing agreement. | Steam has a family sharing agreement that allows you to share your library with up to 10 family members. This agreement has some additional restrictions that you should be aware of before you share your library with family members. |
How To Share A Steam Library
Steam Family Sharing allows you to share your entire Steam library with up to five other users. This is a great way to let friends and family play your games without having to buy them themselves. To share your library, you’ll need to enable Family Sharing on your Steam account. Once you’ve done that, you can add other users as family members. Once they’ve been added, they’ll be able to access your library from their own Steam accounts.
There are a few things to keep in mind when using Family Sharing. First, only one person can play a game from your library at a time. So, if you’re playing a game and your family member wants to play it, you’ll need to close the game so they can start playing. Second, not all games are eligible for Family Sharing. Some developers have chosen to opt out of the program, so you won’t be able to share those games with other users.
People Also Ask
How do I enable Family Sharing on my Steam account?
To enable Family Sharing on your Steam account, follow these steps:
How do I add other users as family members?
To add other users as family members, follow these steps:
How do I remove other users as family members?
To remove other users as family members, follow these steps:
