Steam family sharing explained

Steam family sharing lets you share your game library with people in your household so they can play your games on their own accounts, with their own saves and achievements. In 2024 Valve replaced the old Family Library Sharing with a new system called Steam Families, and the two work differently enough that it is worth knowing which one you are using. This guide covers the current setup, the limits that trip people up, and the parental controls that come with it. If you want a quick read on your own library first, our Steam account value tool shows what your collection is worth before you start sharing it.

Steam Families vs the old Family Library Sharing

The old system, Family Library Sharing, let you authorize your whole library to another account or computer. The catch was that only one person could borrow at a time, and the entire library was locked to that one borrower. If the owner launched any game, the person borrowing got a short warning and then got kicked. It worked, but it was clunky.

Steam Families, which rolled out in 2024, changes the model. Instead of lending your entire library to one person, you build a family group of up to six people, and everyone in the group can see and play each other's eligible games. The big improvement is that multiple members can play different games from the same library at the same time. Two siblings can each be in a different game from Dad's library at once, which the old system never allowed.

The name people search for is still "family sharing," so if you know it by the old name, Steam Families is what you are looking for now.

How to set up a Steam Family

Open the Steam client and click Steam in the top-left, then Settings.
Go to the Family tab.
Choose Create a Family (or Manage if you already have one).
Invite members by their Steam account. You can have up to six people in a group, counting yourself.
Members accept the invite, and shared games show up in each person's library under a Family label.

Everyone needs to be signed in with their own account. Kids do not share your login. They get their own account inside the family, which is the whole point of the separate saves and achievements.

The limits you should know about

Six members per family. A group holds up to six people total. That is the hard cap.
One person per copy of a game. Different games from the same library can run at once, but the same specific game cannot be played by two people simultaneously. If someone is playing a shared copy and the owner launches it, the owner takes priority and the borrower is bumped, similar to the old system.
The one-year lock. An account can only be in one family at a time, and once you leave or get removed, you generally have to wait about twelve months before joining another. As PC Gamer put it, if you get kicked out, the slot is locked for a year, so pick your family carefully.
Not every game is shareable. Some titles are excluded because of third-party keys, subscriptions, or publisher restrictions. Those simply will not appear as shared.
Region matters. Members should be in the same or a nearby region. Sharing across very different regions can run into restrictions.

Parental controls for kids

Steam Families folds parental controls directly into the group, which is a real upgrade over the old setup. As a parent, you can:

Approve or block specific games so a child only sees what you allow.
Set playtime limits by day or by schedule, and see how long a kid has actually played.
Restrict the store, community, and friends features for younger accounts.
Handle purchase requests, so a child can ask to buy something and you approve it rather than handing over a card.

Kids keep their own progress. Their saves and achievements are theirs, not yours, so lending them a game does not overwrite your file.

What real users run into

Community threads on the Steam forums are full of people learning the rules the hard way. A common complaint in the "family sharing not working right" discussion is confusion over why two people cannot play the exact same game at once, which is the per-copy limit doing its job. Others get caught out by the one-family-per-year rule after leaving a group to join a friend's. The pattern is clear: the sharing itself works well, but the borrowing rules are stricter than people expect, so read them before you set things up.

If you are comparing this against other ways to play someone else's games, our guide on how to gameshare on Steam walks through the alternatives.

FAQ

Can two people play the same game at the same time with family sharing? No. Different games from one library can run at once, but a single copy of a game can only be played by one person at a time. If the owner starts playing it, the borrower gets bumped.

How many people can be in a Steam Family? Up to six members total, including yourself.

Do I keep my own saves and achievements when I play a shared game? Yes. Every member has their own saves and achievements. Playing a borrowed game does not touch the owner's progress.

Is Steam Families the same as Family Library Sharing? Steam Families is the newer system that replaced Family Library Sharing in 2024. It is more flexible, mainly because multiple people can play different games from one library at the same time.

Why can't I join a new family right away? An account can only be in one family, and after leaving or being removed you usually have to wait about a year before joining another. Plan your group before committing.

Are all my games shareable? Most are, but some are excluded because of third-party activation, subscriptions, or publisher rules. Those games will not appear in the shared library.