Sharing of Steam between two computers

[arnprasad]

Hi all

I live in Bangalore and my Sister and family live in Hyd. They have elder kids than mine and now they have started earning as well. Both my kids and my nephews are into PC gaming.

I was trying to understand what is sharing of games on Steam...the family plan or whatever it is called. One video on youtube said that games can be shared between two computers whereas another video says it can be shared on two accounts but on the same PC.

Please share some light on this. What I want is that my nephews buy a game on steam....we are looking at Elden rings which is 2499. He enables family sharing and my kids can play it here with their own game saves...etc. is this possible as I am trying to avoid buying the game.

Does the same logic apply to Microsoft game pass well? I will continue to look for answers on the web myself.

Thanks in advance for all your help!

 

[Dwaipayan]

Yes they can be shared. To enable family sharing, you need to login to the steam client on your family member's system and authorize it. When you authorize, you will also have to select the target account you want to share it with. Then once you logout and the authorized user logs in with his/her own account, the "shareable" games will show up in his/her steam library.

Basically there are two factors for authentication, the target account and the machine. Sharing will work only for that user in that machine. A different user on that machine or the authorized user on a different machine won't be able to access the shared library.

Few things to consider:
1. Only one of you can access a game at a time. You cannot play in co-op or multiplayer mode by sharing a title.
2. Each user has their own achievements, progress and saves, so they won't conflict.
3. Some title are not shareable due to developer restrictions and other factors, so they won't show up under any circumstances on a shared library.

More details here.

 

[AmaravatiListener]

Hi all

I live in Bangalore and my Sister and family live in Hyd. They have elder kids than mine and now they have started earning as well. Both my kids and my nephews are into PC gaming.

I was trying to understand what is sharing of games on Steam...the family plan or whatever it is called. One video on youtube said that games can be shared between two computers whereas another video says it can be shared on two accounts but on the same PC.

Please share some light on this. What I want is that my nephews buy a game on steam....we are looking at Elden rings which is 2499. He enables family sharing and my kids can play it here with their own game saves...etc. is this possible as I am trying to avoid buying the game.

Does the same logic apply to Microsoft game pass well? I will continue to look for answers on the web myself.

Thanks in advance for all your help!

Hey! Yes your nephews can share their games on steam and your kids can play the game with their own game saves. The catch is that when your nephews are using their steam account - your kids cannot play any of the titles that are owned and shared by your nephews.

Game Pass does not allow sharing like steam as far as I know.

 

[arnprasad]

Thanks! That's what I thought but since we never tried Steam..wanted to confirm. Game Pass I guess is cheap as it is and hence I will renew my membership. Many thanks again!

My Next question was whether Elden Rings is enabled for family sharing and below post again has diverse views

https://www.reddit.com/r/Eldenring/comments/t24nvk

 

[Dwaipayan]

Thanks! That's what I thought but since we never tried Steam..wanted to confirm. Game Pass I guess is cheap as it is and hence I will renew my membership. Many thanks again!

My Next question was whether Elden Rings is enabled for family sharing and below post again has diverse views

https://www.reddit.com/r/Eldenring/comments/t24nvk

You can try purchasing it and get a refund within 14 days as long as the play time is less than 2 hours. Alternatively, you need inputs from someone who owns the game and can verify it for you in the "manage family sharing" page.

Note: Use domestic payment options else there will be a conversion fee charged on top of the invoice amount.