Most gamers around the world have Steam installed on their system. If you are one and would love…
Most gamers around the world have Steam installed on their system. If you are one and would love to share games with your friends and family, you are reading the right piece.
Over the past few years, Steam has introduced amazing features for a better user experience, including the family library sharing feature. You can share your collection of games in your library with others without paying twice.
What you need to know about Steam Family Sharing
With Family Library Sharing, you can easily share games with friends and family without tampering with each achievement and game progress. The only limitation attached is that the maximum number of accounts allowed is five accounts and ten computers. There are certain games you may not be able to share. Only a user can also access a shared library at once. If you use Netflix, you should be able to relate to this. Two users can’t access the account and play games at the same time. A Steam error will appear on the guest’s account. However, you can play as the owner, and the other user will be told his game will automatically exit.
If you decide to stop sharing your games for whatsoever reason, you can easily deauthorize users. Go to Settings on your Steam account, and navigate to the Family tab. Click on “Manage another computer”, and you can deauthorize sharing privileges to users and computers.
There are specific game titles on Steam you might not be able to include in Family Sharing. You can share base games with others, but that’s if they don’t have them themselves. If you share a certain game and extra content with a user with the base game, they won’t be able to access all the content.
It is not possible to share games that require a paid subscription. Other reasons may be that the game has free DLC or it doesn’t support the guest’s operating system.
Read also: SteamHeat; Ready To Sell Your Steam Gift Cards at an Excessive Rate?
How to enable game sharing on Steam
The first step to sharing games with your friends and family is to enable Steam Guard on your Steam account.
- Go to the Steam website or open your client app to log in.
- Navigate to the Settings menu.
- Click on the Account tab
- Tap on “Manage Steam Guard Account Security”
- To enable it, verify your email address with Steam.
- If the “Turn Steam Guard off tab” is selected, Steam Guard is not enabled.
- Then scroll left to select the “Family” tab.
- Tick the box beside “Authorize Library Sharing on this computer”
- There will be a list of accounts shown below. Tick five accounts you would like to share with.
How to request access to another user’s library
Follow these steps to request access to play games in your friend’s Steam library.
- Confirm Steam Guard is enabled on your account.
- You can see Steam account games in your library for users that use your computer to play games.
- Tap on the game you want
- Click on “Request access”
- An email with authorization will be sent to the owner.
- Once the owner clicks on the link, you will gain access to play.
Frequently asked questions about Steam Game Share
Can I share games on Steam and play at the same time?
Yes, you can share games and play simultaneously on Steam. However, there are some rules guiding this. If there is a game you are sharing with another user, the user needs to go offline for you to play. Although, you can play the game simultaneously if you use the same account.
Can I transfer games on Steam?
Yes, you can transfer games on Steam. This is possible if you got a new system and need to transfer your games and data. But it is impossible if you want to transfer games from one Steam account to another. If you create a new account, the games on your former account will be lost.
Conclusion
I hope this article has given you a comprehensive guide to sharing games on Steam. Steam is recognized as the largest video gaming network with millions of games. You can buy and install games added to your library with a Steam gift card. These games can then be shared with family and friends. Be aware that purchasing games isn’t the only use for a Steam gift card. You can also sell a Steam gift card in Nigeria for a good rate.