I’m trying to help my brother set up a SteamDeck and I’m curious about the family sharing feature. If he links up with my account, will he be able to access and play the games I own? Also, if we’re both playing, can we game together, or are there restrictions on that? Thanks for any insights!
3 Answers
Most games can be shared, but not everything. Developers can choose to opt out of the family sharing feature, so some titles may not work. As for playing together, you need two copies of the same game—if you both want to play it at once. Otherwise, only one person can access the shared library at a time, and if both of you try playing, the owner will kick the other off with a warning. Just be aware that the rules seem to change sometimes, so double-check before buying any new games!
Yeah, anything in your library can be shared, but there are some limits. For example, you can’t play the same game at the same time. So if you’re playing something like Yakuza Hawaii Pirate, he won’t be able to jump into it at the same moment. If you want to play together, you guys will need to own separate copies of the same game. Just keep in mind some games don’t allow family sharing at all, like GTA 5. Overall, I just set it up with my partner and it’s been a blast!
If you’re in the same house, you’re usually good to go! But if you’re not, just be aware that family sharing has some strict rules. They have an algorithm to verify if you’re actually ‘family,’ and it seems they’ve been tightening these restrictions recently. Just a heads-up in case you run into issues later on.
Thanks for clarifying! That makes a lot more sense!