Unlocking Joy: Share Your Steam Games With Family And Friends

Setting Up Steam Family Sharing

To begin sharing your gaming experience with friends and family, you'll need to set up Steam Family Sharing. This feature allows your loved ones to enjoy the games you own while earning their own achievements and saving progress. Here’s how to get started:

Steps to Create Your Steam Family

1. Launch the Steam app and log into your account.

2. Click on the Steam menu located at the top left and select Settings.

3. Navigate to the Family section on the left sidebar and select “Create or join a Steam family.”

4. Click the “Create a Family” button and enter a family name before clicking “Create.”

Requirements for Family Sharing

It's important to note that to share your games, the accounts you wish to invite must be your friends on Steam. Additionally, they will need to accept your invitation to join your family group.

Inviting Family and Friends

Inviting someone to your Steam Family is a straightforward process. Follow these steps to send an invitation:

How to Invite Members

1. Navigate to the Family section within Steam Settings and click on “Invite a Member.”

2. Select the friend you wish to invite from your friends list.

3. Choose whether to invite them as an “Adult” or “Child.” The latter option gives you parental controls over their account.

4. Click “Invite” to send the invitation.

Accepting the Invitation

Once the invitation is sent, your friend or family member needs to check their Steam for the invitation alert. They can accept it directly from there or via the “Family” section by clicking “Accept.”

Configuring Parental Controls and Playtime

One of the key benefits of Steam Family Sharing is the ability to manage playtime and set parental controls. This feature is particularly useful for families with children who play games. Here's how to enable parental controls:

Setting Up Parental Controls

1. Go to “Settings” and then “Family.”

2. Click the down arrows beside your child’s account and toggle on “Enable parental controls for this user.”

3. You can choose to allow access to “Only games I choose” or “All games” based on your preferences.

Managing Playtime

Additionally, you can set playtime limits for your child. Simply toggle on the “Set playtime limits” option and specify the hours they are allowed to play.

Requesting Games as a Child

Steam Family also allows children to request games from adults in the family for approval. This feature provides a way for parents to oversee game purchases:

How to Request a Game

1. Add a game to your cart and proceed to the Cart section.

2. Click on “Request purchase” to send a request to the adults in your family group.

Approval Process

Adults will need to go to the “Requests” section in Steam Families, accept the request, and pay for the game before the child can start playing it.

Managing Family Membership

If you decide to leave a family group or remove someone from your Steam Family, the process is simple:

Leaving a Family Group

1. Go to “Settings” and then “Family.”

2. Select “Manage your Family” and choose “Leave Family.”

Removing a Member

To remove someone, navigate to “Settings” > “Family” > “Manage your Family,” and select “Remove Member.”

Understanding the Limitations

While Steam Family Sharing is an excellent way to share games, there are some limitations to keep in mind:

Key Limitations

• You can only add up to 6 Steam accounts.
• Only one user can access the shared library at a time.
• Not all games support Steam Family Sharing.
• Shared accounts must reside in the same country due to region restrictions.