Steam Families Offer New Shared Gaming Experience

PC gaming is often thought of as a solo activity, but the rise of handheld PC gaming devices like the Steam Deck has made sharing your favorite games much easier, albeit unofficially.

Valve's Steam platform, which previously didn't have much in the way of sharing, has accepted the reality of this handover with the Steam Families.

Steam Families is still in beta, and it's designed to replace the more limited Steam Family Sharing and Steam Family View.

You can invite up to five family members if the total number of people in your household is six, and then share the game with them if the developer allows it.

Family members can view their family library games in a subsection of their list.

Anyone can play the game together and keep their own save files and achievements.

At first glance, Steam Families is more permissive than Family Sharing. You can play games from a family member's library even if they are already online and playing other games.

Multiple Steam Family members can play the same game at the same time, although the number of people playing must match the total number of copies purchased among family members.

All games are automatically shared with all other family members.

Parents have a little more control to limit games, playtime, and customize other features.

Along with the restrictions, Steam Families makes it easier for a child to ask an adult in the same family to buy a game for them.

No more handing over credit cards or repeated gift card purchases.

And anyone can mark a game as "private" to prohibit sharing, which seems like a good idea.

 

There are several things to note, though, namely:

 

1. Steam Families is aimed at those with close family members, and Steam will monitor usage and may adjust rules over time.

2. You must wait one year after joining your previous family to join a new family.

3. A family member's slot cannot be replaced until one year later.

4. Games that require a third-party account or subscription cannot be shared.

5. Cheating bans impact the game as a whole, resulting in families losing access.

6. Free DLC, free-to-play games with purchased DLC, region-restricted games, and any games that have been excluded from Steam Family Sharing are not shareable.

7. If that's not complicated enough, you'll find even more rules, especially around DLC, in the Steam Families FAQ.

 

You can set up Steam Families in the Steam client Interface section by selecting "Steam Family Beta" from the "Client Beta Participation" setting.