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Steam Announces Family Sharing

G

Gamerloid

Member
The future of PC Gaming is looking even better. Not being able to share games was something it was missing that gamers were used to on consoles!
 
G

Grief.exe

Member
I posted a thread on this possibility a few months ago.

Grief.exe said:
Found in the latest Steam Beta update.

Update to Steam Beta. Steam > Settings > Beta Participation
Go to you Steam/Public/steamui_english to verify

TeA8YXw.png


"SteamUI_JoinDialog_SharedLicense_Title" "Shared game library"
"SteamUI_JoinDialog_SharedLicenseLocked_OwnerText" "Just so you know, your games are currently in use by %borrower%. Playing now will send %borrower% a notice that it's time to quit."
"SteamUI_JoinDialog_SharedLicenseLocked_BorrowerText" "This shared game is currently unavailable. Please try again later or buy this game for your own library."
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
U

uncledonnie

Banned
zewone said:
How do you figure? There's nothing like this currently available.

If you're referring to gamesharing on the 360/PS3, that is way more cumbersome and not an official service. It's more of an exploit.
Click to expand...

Yeah if you just read the OP it sounds like sharing on the same device. Needed to read further.
 
A

Adam Blue

Member
uncledonnie said:
Maybe I'm reading wrong but this sounds nothing like what MS proposed. It's sharing on the same device, which PS4 and X1 already have.
Click to expand...

Even the PS3 does this. Not sure if 360 does...

zewone said:
How do you figure? There's nothing like this currently available.

If you're referring to gamesharing on the 360/PS3, that is way more cumbersome and not an official service. It's more of an exploit.
Click to expand...

Actually, if I have a game downloaded on my PS3 and my bro signs into his account, game is there to play.
 
T

The_Hitcher89

Member
zewone said:
How do you figure? There's nothing like this currently available.

If you're referring to gamesharing on the 360/PS3, that is way more cumbersome and not an official service. It's more of an exploit.
Click to expand...

I didn't read the FAQ, statement makes it sound like a simple sub-account system :)

Hopefully they add sub-accounts anyway, my brother wants one
 
M

Marty Chinn

Member
All this really is, is instead of giving out your login/password to someone else's computer, they can just use their own. It'll just be like Steam is now where you can only login to your library from one computer at a time with an auto log out elsewhere. Very little has changed other than not needing to give out your credentials to a limited number of computers.
 
S

SkyTurnsRed

Banned
If you read through it, the catch is that it's library wide access instead of single games, meaning that if you're playing my Amnesia, and I decide to play Skyrim, Steam will give you five minutes. After that, boot. Doesn't matter if it's the same game. Still awesome.

Edit: I read this totally wrong. Eff.
 
D

DocSeuss

Member
Now all they need to do is let us sell games. I'd love to get rid of some of the games I own that I got for free or whatever.

Man, what I'd give to play someone's copy of Prey 2, Wolfenstein 2009, or (OMFG) Stubbs the Zombie.

SkyTurnsRed said:
If you read through it, the catch is that it's library wide access instead of single games, meaning that if you're playing my Amnesia, and I decide to play Skyrim, Steam will give you five minutes. After that, boot. Doesn't matter if it's the same game. Still awesome.
Click to expand...

That's kind of a bummer.
 
S

sflufan

Banned
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.

Ah forget this then!
 
M

Mpl90

Two copies sold? That's not a bomb guys, stop trolling!!!
So, basically

You (the lender) can authorize up to 10 devices of other people to play with your library.
Up to 10 people can access the entire library, and have their achievements and all.
If the lender wants to play, the other player has two options: saving the game and exiting in a few minutes / buying the game.
Co-op is not possible: only one player can access the library, and the lender can access it every time.

Did I get everything right?
 
S

Stumpokapow

listen to the mad man
To all the leeches in this thread: I suspect that anyone you know with a large number of games is instantly going to get bombarded with sharing requests, and it's going to make them resent those people and also feel like they're only being talked to because they have cool toys. Unless you want to alienate people, don't ask them to share their library with you.
 
G

Grief.exe

Member
Added to OP

Grief.exe said:
FAQ

I want to try this! How can I join the Family Sharing Beta?
To express interest in beta participation, join the Family Sharing Group on the Steam community. The Family Sharing beta will begin in mid-September, when a thousand Steam accounts from this group will be granted access to share their Steam libraries. You’ll know you’ve been selected when you receive an email from Steam inviting you to try out the new feature.

How do I enable Family Sharing on my computer?
Family Sharing is enabled in one of two ways: You can either locally enable sharing in Account Settings, with Family Sharing & Devices, or remotely respond to a user’s Steam request to share your previously installed games via email.

Is there a limit to the number of devices I can authorize to share my Library?
Yes. A Steam account may authorize Family Sharing on up to 10 devices at a given time.

Can I share specific games, or do I have to share my whole library?
Libraries are shared and borrowed in their entirety.

Can all Steam games be shared with friends and family?
No, due to technical limitations, some Steam games may be unavailable for sharing. For example, titles that require an additional third-party key, account, or subscription in order to play cannot be shared between accounts.

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.

Sometimes the games I’ve borrowed are unavailable for me to play. Why?
Borrowed games are only available on devices that have been authorized by the lender. Borrowed games will be unavailable on even an authorized device when the lender’s library is currently in use on another computer.

Who owns and can access the DLC and in-game content associated with a borrowed title?
A borrower will have access to the lender’s DLC, but borrowers may not purchase DLC for a base game they don't own. Any player may purchase, trade, earn, or otherwise acquire in-game content while playing a game, but in-game items cannot be shared between accounts. These items remain the property of the account that purchased or acquired them, whether borrowing or lending the base game.

Can region-restricted content be shared across regions?
No, any region restrictions will remain in place when lending or borrowing content.

Will I be punished for any cheating or fraud conducted by other users while playing my games?
Your Family Sharing privileges may be revoked if your library is used by borrowers to conduct cheating or fraud. We recommend you only authorize familiar computers you know to be secure.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
A

alr1ght

bish gets all the credit :)
Reading over this, it just sounds like account sharing without having the receiver having input the Steam Guard key. Basically a sub-account, which you could do already, albeit not directly.
 
J

JaggedSac

Member
Mpl90 said:
So, basically

You (the lender) can authorize up to 10 devices of other people to play with your library.
Up to 10 people can access the entire library, and have their achievements and all.
If the lender wants to play, the other player has two options: saving the game and exiting in a few minutes / buying the game.
Co-op is not possible: only one player can access the library, and the lender can access it every time.

Did I get everything right?
Click to expand...

I believe so, yes.
 
J

John Rabbit

Banned
oh is this another thread where people who fundamentally don't understand how Steam or PC gaming works in general try to spin this as "The same thing Microsoft was doing" ?
 
C

Corto

Member
Great feature, will be very curious to read the details. Hope that this makes Sony improve their existing sharing features.
 
B

Bsigg12

Member
So only 1 person at a time per library. That kinda limits this because if you're playing in a shared library, and the original owner starts up any other game, you're done.
 
R

r3n4ud

Member
Stumpokapow said:
To all the leeches in this thread: I suspect that anyone you know with a large number of games is instantly going to get bombarded with sharing requests, and it's going to make them resent those people and also feel like they're only being talked to because they have cool toys. Unless you want to alienate people, don't ask them to share their library with you.
Click to expand...
Stump, wanna share your library with me? ;)
 
L

Lint21

Neo Member
This is great for someone in my situation. My girlfriend and I both have laptops, in addition to a gaming PC connected to our home theater. Previously we would often buy the same game so that we could each play it, earn our own achievements, etc. Seemed like a bit of a waste, but the games were so cheap that we didn't care much.

Now, I'll be able to share my library with her account (and vice-versa) so that she can play my games on her laptop. Or, when she logs into her account on the desktop via Big Picture Mode (they recently added the multi-user feature), she'll have access to both libraries.
 
M

MadOdorMachine

No additional functions
I was hoping for a little more parental control. It's a shame you can't pick which games you want to share. Hopefully that's something that get's ironed out in the future.
 
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