Steam Family Sharing lets you share your game library with people in your household

Steam Family Sharing is a feature that lets you share the games you own with other people who use computers in your home. When you set it up, anyone with an account on your computer can play your games. You can also authorize one other person's computer so you can play your games there, and they can play theirs on your machine. The games stay tied to your account — the other person is not getting their own copy, and you can turn off sharing whenever you want.

The feature works because Steam tracks which account owns each game, not which computer it sits on. When someone else launches a game you own, Steam checks that your account has the right to play it. This means you can only share with people you trust, because anyone using your computer can access all your games.

Key Takeaways

  • Steam Family Sharing works on computers in your home, not across the internet to distant friends.
  • You authorize your computer so anyone with an account on it can play your games, and you can authorize one other person's computer to play their games on yours.
  • Only one person can play a shared game at the same time — if you are playing a game you own, nobody else can play it until you stop.
  • You can remove sharing access at any time, and the other person loses the ability to play your games when ready.
  • Games that require a separate account or subscription (like World of Warcraft or PlayStation Plus) may not work when shared.

How to set up sharing on your own computer

Open Steam and go to Settings, then select Family in the left menu. You will see an option that says "Authorize computers on this account". Click that button. Steam will ask you to confirm — it will warn you that anyone with an account on this computer can play your games. Click "Authorize" to confirm.

Once you authorize the computer, anyone who has a user account on that Windows or Mac machine can open Steam, log in with their own account, and see your games in their library. They can launch and play any of them. You do not need to stay logged in — your account just needs to have authorized the computer once.

If you want to stop sharing, go back to Settings > Family and click "Deauthorize" next to the computer name. Anyone currently playing one of your games will be kicked out when the game ends, and they will not be able to launch your games again.

How to play games on someone else's computer

Ask the person who owns the games to authorize their computer using the steps above. Once they do, you can log into Steam on that computer with your own account. You will see their games in your library, and you can play them just like they can play yours.

You can also authorize one other person's computer for your account. Go to Settings > Family and click "Authorize a computer on another account". Steam will show you a code. Give that code to the other person, and they enter it on their computer in the same Settings > Family menu. After that, you can log in on their machine and play your games there, and they can log in on yours.

The one-at-a-time rule for shared games

Only one person can play a game you own at the same time. If you are playing Baldur's Gate 3, nobody else can launch it until you close it. This applies even if you own the game and the other person is just borrowing it through sharing.

If someone else tries to launch a game while you are playing it, Steam will show them a message saying the game is in use. They can request to play it, which sends you a notification. You can let them take over (which closes the game for you), or you can ignore the request and keep playing.

This limit exists because most games are licensed for one person to play at a time. It is Steam's way of preventing the same copy from being played by multiple people simultaneously.

Games that may not work when shared

Most games work fine with Family Sharing, but some do not. Games that require you to log into a separate account — like World of Warcraft, Final Fantasy XIV, or Apex Legends — will not let the other person play unless they have their own account with that game's publisher. The game will launch, but it will ask for a login that only you have.

Games that require a subscription service can also cause problems. If a game needs PlayStation Plus, Xbox Game Pass, or a similar service, the other person will not be able to play it unless they have their own subscription. Some games check this when they launch and will refuse to start.

A small number of games have sharing disabled by the publisher. You will see a message in the game's store page if this is the case. These are rare, but they exist.

What happens to your games when sharing is on

Your games remain yours. You still own them, you can still play them, and you can still uninstall sharing at any time. Turning on Family Sharing does not give the other person ownership — it just gives them permission to use what you own while they are on your computer or on a computer you have authorized.

If you stop paying for a game (for example, if you refund it), it disappears from both your library and the other person's library when ready. If you delete your Steam account, all shared access ends. If you move to a different house, you can deauthorize the old computer and authorize a new one.

Troubleshooting common sharing problems

If someone cannot see your games in their library, make sure you actually authorized the computer. Go to Settings > Family and check that the computer shows as "Authorized". If it does not, click the button again. Also make sure they are logged in with their own account, not yours — they should see your games in their library under "Games from other accounts".

If a game launches but when ready closes, it may be one of the games that requires a separate account or subscription. Check the game's store page to see if it has any sharing restrictions. You can also try launching the game yourself to make sure it works on that computer at all.

If the other person gets a message saying the game is in use, it means you are currently playing it. Close the game on your end, or click the notification they sent and choose to let them take over.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I share games with friends who do not live with me?

Steam Family Sharing is designed for people in the same household. Technically, you can authorize a friend's computer remotely, but Steam's terms say you should only share with people you live with. If Steam detects unusual activity — like someone logging in from far away or at impossible times — it may restrict the feature.

What if someone else logs into my Steam account on their computer?

If they log in with your account, they can play all your games. This is different from Family Sharing, which lets them use their own account. For security, only give your password to people you completely trust, and consider changing it afterward.

Can I share games on more than one computer?

You can authorize as many computers as you want for your own account, so anyone on those computers can play your games. However, you can only authorize one other person's computer for your account. If you want to share with multiple people, they all need to be on the same authorized computer.

Do I need to stay logged in for sharing to work?

No. Once you authorize a computer, your games stay available to other accounts on that computer even when you are logged out. Your account just needs to have authorized it once.

What if I want to stop sharing with one person but keep sharing with another?

If both people are on the same computer, you cannot stop sharing with just one of them — you would have to deauthorize the whole computer. If they are on different computers, you can deauthorize one computer while leaving the other authorized.