Before Microsoft’s first (of many) Xbox One policy reversals, the company was touting a feature which allowed gamers to share their game library with friends and family through Xbox Live. In the wake of the feature’s abrupt removal, Valve has now announced a similar feature of its own, Steam Family Sharing, which allows Steam users to play games through other users’ libraries.
“Steam Family Sharing allows close friends and family members to play one another’s games while earning their own achievements and saving their own game progress to the Steam cloud,” the feature’s announcement reads. The official reveal also details an impending beta period to begin mid-September. Players can sign up for the beta by joining the feature’s Steam Group.
The FAQs also yield a wealth of information, not the least of which is a Family Sharing device cap of 10. In addition, Valve has stated that “a shared library may only be accessed by one user at a time,” and if the owner wishes to play a shared game while a friend is currently playing it through their library, the sharer “will be given a few minutes to either purchase the game or quit playing”