This was previously available as a opt in beta, but is now available for everyone.
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Does this mean we can “opt out” of the families beta and just use the main client again?
No, Steam families is now out of beta and is the default for all users I think. I’m not sure how long you can keep using the existing family sharing, but I’m guessing at some point you’ll be forced to swap over.
I just checked the client and looks like it rolled everyone who was in family beta back to “No beta chosen”. That’s actually what I meant with that question, and I wasn’t clear enough.
To originally get the new family sharing to work, I needed to select the family sharing beta build, but it automatically seems to have put me back on the “normal build” since this feature rolled out.
It’s fantastic tbh. Less convenient for people who just abuse family share with random people, but for actual families or close groups of long-term friends it’s glorious.
How is it different from the beta one that we already had? I looked today and I’m still in the beta one and there is no other option to the actual one!
This is the same as the beta version, but is distinctly different from what we used to have. Previously playing a shared game locked down the entire library, now it just locks the one copy of the game. Previously you had to sign in on the same device to make it happen, now you can invite into the family remotely. Previously you could switch people in and out easily, now there’s a six person limit on the family and a one year cooldown on both the slot and the member who chooses to leave a family.
Overall it’s better as long as you didn’t abuse the system before.
Previously playing a shared game locked down the entire library, now it just locks the one copy of the game.
This is by far the best thing ever for me. My 10 year old son is always hogging the damn thing and I never get to play. 😂 Thank you valve for locking only the game. I’m so freaking happy, you have no idea. I still don’t understand the cooldown part, but meh, I got what I’ve always dreamed of, and that is what I care about.
Have they solved the issue that multiple people can’t be playing at the same time, or the same game at the same time?
I don’t even do families. One of us just goes into offline mode for the time. Slightly obnoxious.
The “same game at the same time” part is a licensing issue. It won’t ever be “solved” because it would get Steam into legal trouble to do so, just like the Internet Archive recently FAFO’ed. In order for two people to play the same game at the same time, you need to own two licenses for said game.
But it does solve the issue of multiple people using the same library at the same time. Now your family members don’t get booted off of Skyrim just because you launched Persona. It basically combines your libraries, so any of you can choose any of the listed games to play at any time. Just like having a physical shelf full of CD cases.
Yup.
The previous family share was gathering your library of games with the “console” in a single box and giving that entire to your friend. If you want to play anything, you need the box back.
Steam Families is now a common bookshelf, grab a game if it’s there and play.Now we just need a way to use that shelf with the same account so I don’t get booted from my steam deck games just because I left something running on my PC and vice versa.
Previously a family member could only play your shared library if you weren’t playing any game.
With this new steam families, they can play any game except the game you’re actively playing (unless the family collectively owns multiple copies). So if me and my son want to play Lethal Company together we need two copies.
Cool. Well that is certainly a step forward. Thanks.
I can’t figure out how to create accounts for my kids. They are under 13 and there’s a checkbox saying people under 13 can’t create an account.
IIRC I’m 5 years older on steam than reality because of this. From my family’s first computer onward, I am the parental controls.
Use the time honored technique of lying on the birthdate form.
Jan 1st
scroll scroll 1956! perfect!
enter
I like to pick 1901, so it looks like a 123 year old is playing The Witcher 3.
You monster
Yeah, maybe they should have some sort of ‘young child’ accounts for children under 13, that are required to be in a family with more restrictions on store access and such.
deleted by creator
I there are some regulatory hurdles as well, like data collection and ratings board stuff. It would probably take some work to implement those.
