With then many groovy games on Steam, it would make sense to have the ability to share them with other friends or family. Thankfully, Steam does accept this option, and there are a few ways you can do information technology. To make sure it works, though, yous'll have to follow a specific procedure.

Your games tin be shared beyond multiple devices and accounts, making information technology like shooting fish in a barrel to allow friends or family access to your library. If you follow the steps and tips outlined beneath, you should accept library sharing set upward in no time and your friends tin can get to playing your games on their accounts.

How to Set Up Library Sharing

To share games on Steam, you'll first want to brand sure yous know your username and password, and that you accept access to your friend's or family fellow member'southward figurer that they apply to log into their ain account. This will ensure that they can play your games on their device. Follow these steps to share your games.

  1. Open the Steam desktop app and log into your own business relationship.
  1. Go to Steam > Settings > Family.
  1. Brand certain Authorize Library Sharing on this computer is checked.
  1. Log out of your business relationship, and take the other person log dorsum into their own Steam account. They should now be able to play any games that are available for sharing from your library.

By sharing your games this way, you tin qualify up to 10 different devices for Library Sharing and can share games with up to five different accounts. One time authorized, they can download games from your library onto their computer.

Requesting Access to a Game Library

If you're sharing a calculator and using multiple Steam accounts, you may see games from the other's business relationship on the list of Steam games. If you want to asking admission to games from another account, there's an easy way to do so.

  1. On your business relationship, find a game from another business relationship's library on Steam and select it, then click Play.
  1. An email volition be sent to the owner of the game requesting admission to their library.
  1. Accept the owner click on the link to authorize access to their game library on your computer. One time they've washed this, you lot should be able to download and play their games.

Enabling Steam Guard

If you're going to be sharing games with others through your account, yous'll want to make sure your account is protected beforehand. Steam Guard is a service yous can turn on within your account to ensure everything stays secure. Before logging into your business relationship on other devices or sharing your Steam library, you'll want to turn this on.

  1. Make sure y'all're logged into your Steam account on the Steam desktop app.
  1. Click on your username and go to Account Details > Manage Steam Guard.
  1. Choose whether you want Steam Guard codes sent to you by phone or email. This is for ii-factor hallmark and will allow you to keep your business relationship secure.

If you've already authorized your account on another device, you lot likewise have the power to deauthorize it on any other device too the one you're currently using it on. This is a handy tool if you always want to revoke Library Sharing on other devices.

Tips for Steam Library Sharing

When using Library Sharing to share games on Steam, there are a few things you'll desire to keep in heed in lodge to make certain the sharing works smoothly and to limit issues.

  • You'll need to be connected to the internet in guild to access any shared games from others accounts.
  • Some games may exist unavailable for sharing. This could be due to the game needing a subscription or third-party account for it to be played.
  • Two users can't exist playing the same game at the same fourth dimension. In the upshot that 2 users try to play one game, the primary account that owns the game will get priority in playing the game. The other user will be prompted to either buy or exit the game.
  • You tin can't share simply specific games, the entire library has to exist shared to other accounts.
  • An account playing a shared game they don't own volition also have admission to any DLC bought past the master game possessor, merely the guest player tin can't purchase DLC for a game they don't already own.
  • Region-restricted content can't exist shared to exterior regions.

Why Isn't Library Sharing Working?

Steam'southward Library Sharing feature is known to have some bug, so it's entirely possible you may be having trouble getting it to piece of work. However, there are some fixes you tin try in order to resolve this and get your games working across other devices.

Reauthorize a Device

I method that may fix an issue when trying to share games on steam is to log into a previously authorized device on the master sharing account, deauthorize the device, then log dorsum out. And then, accept the other person log into their business relationship and go to play the game. They will then have to request access for the game over again. Follow the steps above for requesting game admission in social club to reauthorize the device.

Disable Antivirus Software

If the authorized device is running antivirus software, it's possible information technology may exist preventing an account from playing a new game. So to set up this, you can disable the antivirus software. Then, verify the integrity of the game by going to it in the Steam library, right-clicking it and selecting Properties > Local Files > Verify Integrity of Game Cache.

This volition ensure that the game is safe to play on the computer and the antivirus software will not preclude you from playing the game.

Relocate Steam Files

Another ready to effort is changing the location of Steam'due south files. To do this, go to the Steam installation folder on your PC. Then delete all files except for SteamApps, Userdata, and Steam.exe. And so copy and paste the installation folder into a new location.

Now, open the Steam app and log into your account, and endeavor to access the game yous desire to play.

Brand Sure In that location Are No Other Issues

Think that multiple people can't be playing i game at the aforementioned time, and also that certain games yous may simply exist unable to play at all. Be certain to rule out these limitations before trying any other fixes.

Sharing Your Steam Library

Library Sharing is a slap-up way to let your friends and family to play your favorite games. If you follow all the steps above, yous should exist able to become information technology working in no time. This eliminates the need to buy a game multiple times on 1 device in society to play it, and you lot can assist friends out past sharing a game on Steam they may be wanting to play.