Valve announces Steam 'Family Sharing'

Steam announced a "Family Sharing" feature today, which will let you share your library with up to 10 users. A beta is set to begin soon.

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Steam announced a new "Family Sharing" feature today, and is accepting beta applications to test it. When it launches fully, close friends and family will be able to play one another's games, while still earning their own achievements and saving their individual progress through the cloud.

According to Valve's announcement, you'll be able to browse a family member's library and request authorization to download and play the game for yourself. You'll be able to share on up to 10 devices at a time, and sharing access means your partners will be able to look at your entire library. The FAQs do note that technical limitations like a third-party key might not allow for universal sharing, and a shared library can only be accessed by one user at a time.

You can signal your interest by joining the Family Sharing group. The beta will begin in mid-September.

The FAQs also address some nuts and bolts of how it will all work. As the lender, you'll always have access to your games. Playing when a borrower is already playing will give them a few minutes to either purchase it themselves, or quit for the time being. Borrowers will also have access to all of the lender's DLC, but they won't be able to purchase DLC for a game they don't own if the lender doesn't already have it. Region restrictions will remain in place as well, and Valve recommends you only lend to trusted family and friends, since your sharing could be revoked if one of your borrowers cheats with your games.

The feature is especially notable in light of the upcoming Xbox One launch. Family Sharing was one of Microsoft's planned features, but the reversal of its always-online policy meant the sharing feature was lost as well.

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  • reply
    September 11, 2013 10:40 AM

    Steve Watts posted a new article, Valve announces Steam 'Family Sharing'.

    Steam announced a "Family Sharing" feature today, which will let you share your library with up to 10 users. A beta is set to begin soon.

    • reply
      September 11, 2013 10:51 AM

      This is great! I just recently set my daughter up with a Steam account and purchased a couple of games for her (Scribblenauts being the one she plays the most). This will hopefully allow her to play some of the games I continue to buy; but never seem to find time for.

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        September 11, 2013 11:05 AM

        agreed. I would purposely not want to buy titles since I would usually have to buy three copies of them for my boys to play as well.

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      September 11, 2013 10:55 AM

      Now at least someone may play all those games I haven't gotten to on my steam list.

    • reply
      September 11, 2013 11:09 AM

      unnnnnffff

    • reply
      September 11, 2013 11:15 AM

      Is this correct: only one person can access a shared library at a time. So, if I'm playing COD MWIII and my wife wants to plays peggle from the same account, only one of us can play at a time?

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        September 11, 2013 11:16 AM

        Yes. Otherwise, I could see this system being abused.

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          September 11, 2013 11:32 AM

          but.. ALWAYS ONLINE and stuff

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            September 11, 2013 12:16 PM

            Then how is this different from me handing my wife my username and password and letting her log in and I do not log in?

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              September 11, 2013 1:13 PM

              She can maintain her own achievements, save games, etc.

              The speculation is that this is a precursor for a Steam Box that allows multiple profiles, similar to a traditional console. You'll still only have 1 license of a game, and that game can only be played by one individual at a time, but you can keep your own progress.

          • reply
            September 11, 2013 5:13 PM

            Just making fun of the dickbags that whined about always online, then they took it away because of those idiots, they wont implement sharing without always online. I wouldnt either!

      • reply
        September 11, 2013 11:47 AM

        Yes and it's stupid.

      • reply
        September 11, 2013 11:48 AM

        Incorrect, anyone can play any game on your playlist at the same time. You cannot play the same game at the same time.

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          September 11, 2013 11:51 AM

          Can a friend and I share a library and both play at the same time?
          No, a shared library may only be accessed by one user at a time.

          When I authorize a device to lend my library to others, do I limit my own ability to access and play my games?
          As the lender, you may always access and play your games at any time. If you decide to start playing when a friend is already playing one of your games, he/she will be given a few minutes to either purchase the game or quit playing.
          http://steamcommunity.com/groups/familysharing/discussions/0/846964363934331891/

          Maybe I was wrong on that, but the second answer makes it sound like you will only kick them off if it is the same game.

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          September 11, 2013 12:20 PM

          [deleted]

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          September 11, 2013 12:23 PM

          I don't think that's the case.

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          September 11, 2013 1:39 PM

          Can a friend and I share a library and both play at the same time?
          No, a shared library may only be accessed by one user at a time.

          • reply
            September 11, 2013 1:40 PM

            although that could mean the 2 friends were sharing from a lender's library and not one of the parties is the lender.

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              September 11, 2013 5:38 PM

              No, you're first post is correct. One game running at a time in a shared library.

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        September 11, 2013 1:43 PM

        That's kind of disappointing, then. I guess it's a step up from simply giving your name/password to family friends, but still pretty limiting.

        • reply
          September 11, 2013 1:59 PM

          [deleted]

          • reply
            September 11, 2013 2:26 PM

            allowing you and the person you're sharing with to use steam at the same time as long as you're playing different games

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              September 11, 2013 2:35 PM

              Yeah this. I wouldn't care if its same household for that feature either.

            • reply
              September 11, 2013 2:39 PM

              [deleted]

            • reply
              September 11, 2013 2:42 PM

              [deleted]

              • reply
                September 11, 2013 2:48 PM

                Yes. That's essentially how it works with console games using physical disks. Sharing a physical game disk only prevents me from playing that one game.

                I mean, the way it is now anyone I share with still gets a free copy of all my games, they just can't play any of them while I'm playing a game.

                • reply
                  September 11, 2013 2:50 PM

                  Only if you live in the same place. Otherwise this is likely more convenient than the drive to swap stuff.

                  • reply
                    September 11, 2013 3:07 PM

                    Yes, this is the case here.
                    Basically if what some of you wanted came true, people could 'rent out' their collections to 10 others. It's not at all like physical media sharing, since you have to, physically transfer that media to another person.

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                      September 11, 2013 3:17 PM

                      Yeah, having the cap at 10 is high for it to be like that. I was hoping for something along the lines of what you can do with some kindle books where you lend them out to others some period of time, during which you don't have access to them. As it is this is just a safer alternative to sharing your steam username/password with other people, which I don't find particularly useful.

            • reply
              September 11, 2013 3:08 PM

              According to this, you can: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2424315,00.asp

              A shared library can only be accessed by one user as a time. As the lender, however, you will always be able to access and play your games.

              "If you decide to start playing when a friend is already playing one of your games, he/she will be given a few minutes to either purchase the game or quit playing," according to Valve's FAQs about the new feature.

              • reply
                September 11, 2013 3:15 PM

                I believe Valve means if your friend is playing *any* game from your library and you begin playing *any* game from your library, then they'll get kicked off. This is a little unfortunate but makes sense when seen from Valve's POV.

          • reply
            September 11, 2013 5:08 PM

            I don't know. It's by no means an easy problem. I'm not really criticizing them.

            Maybe there could be a timer, like you can only lend out so many specific games within a certain period of time while still allowing access to the library on the master account. 'course the more you introduce obvious artifice on the user end, the more people will call bullshit on it and try to circumvent it.

        • reply
          September 11, 2013 3:52 PM

          It sounds more like this is a step they need to take to test systems that would allow people to sell them on the market or gift them out of your library.

    • reply
      September 11, 2013 11:23 AM

      Even with the limitations, this is pretty badass

    • reply
      September 11, 2013 11:41 AM

      This feature brings digital games one step closer to the full functionality of physical media. Of course with physical media you can still borrow one game at a time (as opposed to the entire library at a time), but this is definitely a nice feature!

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      September 11, 2013 11:41 AM

      [deleted]

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      September 11, 2013 11:46 AM

      I wonder if people with massive libraries will whore out their playlist. Like each person pays $10 a month for access to the library, or if you want to be the only one you pay the person $100 a month lol

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