Steam announces new Family Sharing system

In a blog post published on March 18, 2024, Steam introduced a new Family Sharing system: “Steam Families is a set of new and existing features dedicated to families. They replace family sharing and family mode, centralizing access to titles and playing time for your entire family”.

A Steam family consists of a maximum of six people. By joining this small group, each member can enjoy each other’s video game library. All the titles are also grouped together in the same section of the games list: the Family Library.

In the case where two or more players want to launch the same game simultaneously, Steam emphasizes that one condition is required: having an equivalent number of copies. For the single-player game, the company emphasizes having implemented a separate save and achievement system for each member. We also learn that it is possible to enjoy titles from the family library in offline mode.

Steam Families also offers a new parental control system. With the latter, adults can control their children’s Steam experience. Parents can:

• Manage access to library games;
• Define and manage playing time limits;
• Access playing time reports;
• Restrict access to the Steam store, community or chat;
• Recover a child account if you lose your password;
• Accept or decline a game purchase request.

To activate Steam Families, simply open your Steam client and access the settings. You must then go to the Interface section and choose Steam Family Beta in the drop-down menu of the Client Beta Participation option.

Before embarking on the adventure, an important limitation must still be taken into account: an adult who leaves a Steam family will have to wait a year before joining a new one.