Main points
- Steam Family allows you to share games with up to 5 accounts, but not simultaneously.
- Setting up a Steam collection is simple and requires access to beta builds and Steam Guard.
- Parents can now control access to specific games, monitor play time and approve purchase requests.
Steam is committed to making PC gaming more of a family activity. It has a game sharing system called Steam Families, but it recently got an overhaul that improves on Steam’s old way of sharing games within families. Steam also makes it easier for parents to control their children’s purchasing behavior and the games they have access to.
Steam Family lets you share your entire game library with up to five other Steam accounts. There is no limit to the number of devices other accounts can log into, but only one person can play the same game at the same time. In other words, if one of your family members uses your shared Steam library to spread democracy on Helldivers 2, they’ll get kicked when you launch the game.
Setting up a Steam home is easy. It took me about 10 minutes to create one and send invitations to all my brothers. It does require navigating to a few different sections of Steam settings and enabling Steam Families Beta. Here’s a step-by-step breakdown.
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How to create a Steam family
A family that plays games together stays together
Steam Home is easy to set up, but it does involve accessing Steam’s beta and making sure you have Steam Token enabled.
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Enable Steam Token
Steam Guard is a security feature provided by Steam to protect user accounts from unauthorized access. Steam families need it. Here’s how to make sure you have it enabled.
- Click steam in the upper left corner of the application.
- choose set up.
- Click Safety In the menu that opens you will see the following options Manage Steam tokens.
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Access the Steam Home Beta
Before setting up Steam Home, the next step is to access the Steam Home Beta. Simply head to the Interface section of the Steam Settings menu to apply the changes.
- Click steam in the upper left corner of the application.
- choose interface.
- choose Steam Home Beta From the drop down menu below Steam client beta participation.
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Create your family
The next step is to set up your Steam home. You’ll need to add the account you want to add to your family to your friends list, or you can add them to your Steam family using the friend code associated with their account. In addition to your own account, you can add up to five other accounts to your Steam family.
- return to Steam settings.
- choose family.
- choose Manage your Steam home
- Click plus Add family members.
- You can choose to add them as an adult or a child.
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steam
How to Share Steam Games with Family
More games, but not at the same time
Once your Steam family is set up, you’ll have access to all games in each member’s library. As I mentioned above, you won’t be able to play the same game at the same time, so you may still need multiple copies of the game if your family group members want to play the same game at the same time.
This is no reason not to share your library with them. I have had a Steam account for over ten years with 44 games. My brothers and I started a Steam family with similar accounts and completely different game libraries. This is a great opportunity to try out some new games for free. You can’t choose which games you can share with adult family members, though – your entire library is shared with them. But you can choose for your child.
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How parental controls work in Steam
Unplug the game from your phone
Steam recently simplified parental controls within Steam Family.
Parents can now restrict access to specific games, monitor play time, and establish time-based limits for child accounts. Parents can now approve their children’s purchase requests as well. This keeps your wallet safe since you don’t need to add payment information to your child’s account.
After you add your children to your Steam family, you can set up their parental controls.Just opened steam settings > go Manage your Steam home > Select Child’s Account > click arrow Open all to the right of their name Parental controls usable.
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FAQ
Q: Can games played by Steam family members be played offline?
Yes, you can play games from other members of your Steam family offline.
Q: Is there a limit to the number of devices that can be linked to a Steam Family?
No, there is no limit to the number of devices you can link to your Steam Family.