Steam Family Sharing now runs through Steam Families: open your Store page, go to Account Details, choose Family Management, and select Create a Family, and you can have up to 6 members including yourself. Two people can play the same game at once only if the family library holds 2 copies of it, and free-to-play games, games that need third-party accounts, and a few other categories can't be shared at all. This guide follows Steam's own support documents as checked on September 30, 2026, and it keeps today's rules separate from the old Family Library Sharing setup. If you are also thinking about buying or returning a game, read our Steam refund guide next.
The short answer: who this is for
Steam Families fits you if you want to share games with trusted people in the same household. The buyer keeps ownership of every game, and each person keeps their own saves, achievements, and Workshop access. It does not fit if you want several people to play one copy at the same time, or if you want to share with people outside your household. Steam describes the feature as built for a household of up to 6 close family members, and says that requirement may change. If recording a shared game starts eating your drive, check how to fix low disk space when recording Steam games.
How to create a Steam family and share games
- 1Separate the old feature from the current one — Steam Families launched with a September 11, 2024 announcement and replaced both Steam Family Sharing and Steam Family View. Older tutorials online may therefore show different menu names or numbers. If you already shared with someone, Steam suggests inviting those accounts automatically when you set up a new family.
- 2Create the family — On the Store page, open Account Details and click the Family Management section, then click Create a Family and enter a name. You can change the family name later at any time. You can manage a family from the Steam client, a mobile device, or a web browser.
- 3Invite members and choose roles — Click Invite a Member and pick or search for the person you want to invite. You then choose whether to add them as an adult or a child. Steam's guidance is to add someone as a child if you want parental controls, and as an adult otherwise. The invited person receives an invitation notification.
- 4Check the library after they accept — Once the invitation is accepted, members can access games owned by the rest of the family, and a new Steam family library section appears in the game list. Family games show up like your own; to see them in a separate section, tick Group By Library in the dropdown at the top of the list. If several members own the same game, Steam asks which copy to use and remembers your choice. Switching copies can change DLC and break a save.
- 5Prepare for two people playing the same game — To let two people play the same game at once, the family library needs 2 copies. Steam's own example is a family of four with one copy of Portal 2: if another member buys one more copy, two people can play together. Without an extra purchase, the second person waits and can play other games in the meantime. A game in use is locked in the library, and the client shows who is playing.
- 6Rule out games that can't be shared — Steam lists six kinds of games that can't be shared: games that need additional third-party keys, accounts, or subscriptions; free-to-play games and DLC bought for them; games or DLC restricted in your region or another member's region; games that don't support another member's operating system; games the publisher marked as not shareable; and games the owner marked private. Games excluded from the old Family Sharing stay excluded, and developers can opt out at any time. You can check which games support sharing on the Steam store.
Steam Families rules at a glance
| Item | Official rule | What it means in practice |
|---|---|---|
| Family size | Up to 6 members; after creating a family you can invite up to 5 more people | You count toward the 6 |
| Roles | Two roles: adult and child. Adults manage invitations and apply account restrictions; a child is subject to parental controls and cannot manage the family | Add someone as a child only if you need parental controls |
| Ownership | Ownership stays with the buyer; each person keeps their own saves, achievements, and Workshop access in shared games | Achievements build up per account |
| Same game at the same time | Two people can play the same game at once only if the family library has 2 copies of it | With one copy, the second person waits until the first one is done |
| Different games at the same time | A member can play a game owned by another member even while that member plays a different game | Different games don't block each other |
| Leaving and rejoining | An adult can leave any time, but must wait 1 year from joining the previous family before creating or joining a new one. A slot left by a member also has a 1-year cooldown | If you left by mistake, you can rejoin your last family without waiting while it has fewer than 6 members |
| Cheating | If a family member cheats while playing your game, your Steam Families privileges can be revoked and your account can be VAC banned | Never share your password and invite only people you trust |
If sharing doesn't work, check this
- Confirm the invited person actually accepted the invitation notification
- When you try to join, look for the remaining cooldown time shown; it may come from a 1-year wait after joining a previous family, or a 1-year slot cooldown left by another account
- One official reason you cannot join is that your account activity doesn't look like the same household as the existing members. The exact criteria are not published, so don't guess and contact Steam Support instead
- If a game is locked, check in the client whether another member is already playing that game
- If a game won't launch, check whether it falls into one of the six unshareable categories or whether the developer opted out
- If DLC or saves differ, check whether you switched copies; you can only use another member's DLC that the publisher marked as shareable
- If nothing helps, use the Steam Support link at the bottom of the support FAQ and pick the issue called I am having trouble with a Steam Family
Recording games you play through a family library
A game you borrow through Steam Families still launches from your Steam library, so you can start recording it the same way as any other Steam game. There is no evidence that DOR treats shared games differently or without limits, so first check that the game itself is one DOR supports. DOR is a free Windows desktop app that detects supported games automatically, records the full match as an mp4, and keeps the files in its in-app library. On an NVIDIA graphics card it uses NVENC hardware encoding by default, and because it captures game sound and your microphone together, the chatter while you play with family can end up in the same file. Setup steps are in how to record Steam games, and if the files start piling up, how to reduce game recording file size covers the storage side.
Official sources and how this was checked
This page reflects Steam's documents as checked on September 30, 2026. The rules and menu path come from the Steam Families User Guide & FAQ, the background from the Steam Families announcement, and the contact route from the Steam Support wizard. The English FAQ carries a last timestamp of September 19, 2024, and localized versions may be newer, so re-check the official page for changes before you rely on any rule.
