How To Borrow Steam Games Simply

How to Borrow Steam Games

Ever wanted to play a cool game your friend has on Steam but didn’t want to buy it yourself? Well, you’re in luck! Steam has a feature called Family Sharing that lets you share your game library with close friends and family. It’s like borrowing a book, but for video games! This means you can try out lots of different games without spending extra money. This article will tell you all about how you can share your Steam games.

Understanding Steam Family Sharing

Before we jump into the how-to, let’s understand what Steam Family Sharing actually is. It’s not about giving away your games forever. It’s more like lending them. When you share your games, your friends or family can play them on their own Steam accounts. But there are a few important things to know.

How Family Sharing Works

Think of it as having your own game library and then letting a few of your friends have a peek at it. You still own the games, they are still on your account. They are just temporarily accessible to someone you trust. This access is controlled entirely by you, and it’s a pretty neat way to let others experience your favorite games.

• One Person at a Time: Only one person can play games from a shared library at any given time. If you decide to play, anyone borrowing from you will be given a short time to save and quit.
• Not all Games are Sharable: Some games aren’t eligible for Family Sharing due to technical restrictions or how the games were made.
• Your Account is Important: You, the owner of the games, need to keep your account in good standing to enable sharing. If your account is in trouble (like you’ve been banned), your family members won’t be able to play games from your library either.

Who Can You Share With?

Family sharing is designed for people you know and trust – maybe people who are living at your home or are in your close friend circle. While you can share with a maximum of five accounts, it’s generally a better idea to share with people who you trust because your game library is linked to them.

Setting Up Steam Family Sharing

Okay, let’s get down to business! Here’s how you actually set up Steam Family Sharing so you can start playing games with your friends.

Enabling Family Sharing

This is the first and most important step. You need to enable this setting on the computer that has all the games you want to share.

1. Log in to Steam: First, log in to your Steam account on your computer. Make sure it’s the computer that contains all the games you plan to share.
2. Go to Steam Settings: At the top left corner of your Steam window, click on “Steam” and then choose “Settings.”
3. Select the Family tab: In the Settings window, click on the “Family” tab on the left side.
4. Authorize Sharing: Under “Family Library Sharing,” you’ll see a list of accounts logged into this computer, you’ll see option to “Authorize Library Sharing on this computer”. Click this box. The accounts will now be authorized to use your games.
5. Authorize specific accounts: The “Accounts that can borrow my games” section will show all logged in accounts. Ensure that the correct account has the check box checked. If you do not see the correct account listed, simply log into that Steam account on this PC and it will be displayed.

Adding Accounts to Your Sharing List

Now that you’ve enabled Family Sharing, you need to add the accounts of your friends or family members that you want to share with. Here’s how:

• Have them log in to Steam: Your friends or family need to log in to their Steam account on the computer that you are enabling sharing on. The account will then be displayed in the authorization area as listed above.
• Authorize the computer: Make sure the box is checked next to the account in question.
• That’s it! : Now, this account can borrow games from you when you are not playing.

How to Borrow Games from a Friend

Great! Now that we know how to set up sharing on the “owner’s” side, let’s see how to actually borrow and play the games from another person’s Steam library.

Logging into a Shared Library

Once a friend has authorized your account to borrow their library, you will need to take these steps. Be sure to inform your friend before launching any game as they may be playing themselves.

1. Log in to Steam: Log in to your own Steam account on your computer.
2. Go to Games list: Go to your library.
3. Select the borrowed games: You should see games under a new category called “[Your friend’s Steam name]’s games”. Click any game, and the ‘play’ option should now be available.
4. Start Playing: Click the “play” button, and you’ll be good to go!

Things to Remember While Borrowing

While borrowing games, keep a few things in mind:

• Respect the owner: Remember, the owner can kick you out to play their games at any time. Always be mindful of whether they may need to log into the game.
• Time limitations: If the owner starts playing a game from their own library, you will have a few minutes to finish your current session before you are kicked out. Save your progress frequently, just in case.
• Not all games: As mentioned before, not all games can be shared. Don’t worry if some games are not showing up in your library. It does not mean they did not set up family sharing correctly.

Troubleshooting Family Sharing Issues

Sometimes, things don’t go as planned. Here are a few common problems you might face with Family Sharing and how to fix them.

Common Family Sharing Problems

• Games Not Showing Up: If you can’t see your friend’s games, make sure they have enabled sharing for your account on the correct PC. Make sure that this is not a non-shareable game. Double check if they are playing and are kicking you out. You can also try restarting the Steam client.
• “Cannot Play Game” Error: This can happen if the owner of the games is currently playing a game. Contact the owner or try again later.
• Too Many Authorizations: Remember, Steam limits the number of accounts you can share with. If you’ve hit this limit, you will need to revoke access to someone before adding someone new.

How to Revoke Access

If you need to remove someone from your sharing list, here’s how:

1. Go to Steam Settings: Head back to the “Settings” section.
2. Click the Family Tab: Select the family tab.
3. Remove Authorization: Under “Family Library Sharing,” uncheck the box next to the account you want to remove.

Important Considerations for Steam Family Sharing

Before sharing your games, let’s make sure you are fully aware of all the important aspects.

Privacy and Security

Remember, when you share games, you are letting other people have access to your computer as well. Be sure to share with people you trust, as they could potentially do other things with your computer while logged into their own Steam accounts.

• Account security: Make sure you have a strong password and enable Steam Guard for added security on your account.
• Shared computer risks: If your friends are using your PC, be aware of what they are doing while on it. Ensure that they are not downloading viruses and the like.

Steam Limitations

Be sure to keep in mind Steam’s limitations, it is important.

• Simultaneous play restriction: Only one person can play at a time from a shared library.
• Game limitations: Not every game on Steam can be shared using Family Sharing.
• Account limits: You can only share with up to five accounts.

Keeping Everyone Happy

Good communication is key. If you are sharing or borrowing, keep the other person in mind. Here are a few basic things to consider:

• Communicate: Talk to each other about when you want to play so that no one gets suddenly kicked out of their game.
• Be Respectful: When you are sharing, do not cause issues for the owner of the library. When you are borrowing, do not get upset if you are kicked out of a game.
• Have Fun: Most important of all, have fun experiencing new games and playing with friends!

Steam Family Sharing is a very good feature to save money, and experience many new titles. While there are some limitations involved, it is a fantastic tool that can help you enjoy Steam much more!