alve has released its Steam Family mode for those who want to share their accounts with 5 of their “close family” members. After conducting beta tests earlier this year, Steam Family is now available for everyone to try out. Users can create a joint Steam Family on the game’s portal where they can share the purchased games available in their combined libraries with each other.
The Steam Family games-sharing system will make it possible for each player to save their own progress or achievements in each game, so you won’t have to worry about your sibling killing your progress or messing up your stats when they play your games. It’s a very helpful consideration and will make the game-sharing experience a lot less frustrating.
Valve’s Steam Family Improves the Platform’s Account-Sharing Systems
The Steam Family games sharing strategy is an upgraded version of a sharing system that was already available on the platform. The new and improved version makes it easier for multiple members to game simultaneously but it also enforces a region restriction to try and keep the account within the family. Up to 6 people can be a part of a Steam Family group and all of the members can share their library with each other.
Even if only one member owns the game, all the members can access it and create their own saved files so there’s no overlap between their individual game experiences. The person who purchases the game remains the sole owner, but as long as they remain on the account, access can be shared. Multiple people can play different titles simultaneously so there’s no waiting for one person to hop off in order to play a game.
However, according to the Steam Family sharing rules, you cannot play the exact same game title simultaneously until you buy multiple copies of it. So, if you and your brother both want to use the Steam Family play feature to play Black Myth: Wukong at the same time, both of you will have to purchase the game. If one of you decides to play it while the other plays Warhammer 40,000, then you won’t have trouble using the account simultaneously.
How does Valve’s Steam Family Work?
The Steam Family sharing rules will allow members to take on the role of an adult or a child, and the adults can control the content accessed by the kids. Any adult family member can manage the kid’s account and make the most of the parental controls.
The parental settings will allow parents to restrict their kid’s access to inappropriate games and community chats, set playtime limits, recover a child’s account, etc. Parents can also approve in-family requests from a kid’s account to make a purchase for a new game.
Anyone can start a Steam Family account and invite 5 family members to join in. Titles owned by any of the members will be available to the rest of the family, but kids will have a more limited reach. Additionally, if you’re from a complicated, competitive family, you might want to know that any adult member can kick another family member off the account. Let the drama begin.
Image: Steam
Steam Family Sharing Rules and Restrictions
The Steam Family game-sharing system is quite useful, but it does come with restrictions. An adult who leaves the family group cannot rejoin another family group or create his own for a whole year from the date of joining the previous family. If you leave a Steam Family accidentally, you can rejoin it at any time without a wait.
The group that the adult leaves will also be unable to add a new member to fill in the spot immediately. This is likely done to prevent people from sharing accounts with non-family members, but it can be quite annoying for those who might move away and want an account of their own.
According to PCGamer, region restriction will prevent people who are far away in different countries from sharing an account. Steam Family accounts can be set up between people in different physical homes in the same region, even if Valve prefers the account sharing members also share a household.
The Steam Family feature will be available for all the games that had previously allowed Family Sharing. For the rest of the titles, developers can choose whether they want to allow their games and DLCs to be shared between families via the platform. Some games may require third-party accounts and they won’t be shareable via Valve’s Steam Family either.
The Steam Family sharing rules feel mostly fair and it allows a gamer family to build a nice collection of playable titles. Family members won’t get in each other’s way as long as they don’t try to play the same game all at once, and if they do want to play co-op with each other, they’ll have to be sure to purchase additional copies of the game.