Steam Families, now available in the Steam Beta Client, combines new and existing family-related features and replaces Steam Family Sharing and Steam Family View. It provides a single platform to manage your family’s access to games and when they can play.
You can create a Steam Family and invite up to five family members to get started. Managing your family can be done from your Steam Client, mobile device or web browser.
Members can access Family Sharing and Parental Controls by joining a Steam Family.
Family Sharing gives you access to the shareable games that your family members own, and they can also access the shareable titles in your library.
When you log in to Steam, the new ‘family library’ will appear as a subsection of your games list in the left column. While playing a game from your family library, you can create your own saved games, earn your Steam achievements, and access workshop files.
Family Sharing also allows you to play games from other family members’ libraries, even when they are online playing another game. However, developers may opt out of this feature for their games anytime for technical or other reasons.
Parental Controls allow parents to limit what and when children can play games on Steam and monitor their activity.
Members of a Steam Family can have one of two roles: adult or child. Adult family members can manage invites and apply account restrictions. Children are subject to parental controls and cannot manage the family.
Steam Families has also introduced a new payment option. A child account can request an in-family adult pay for their shopping cart. The adult can approve and pay for the purchase from their mobile device or email. Once approved, all games from the shopping cart will be added to the child’s account.
To test the new Steam Families feature, you need to opt into the Steam Family Beta. Any family members you invite will also need to join the beta.
