[UPDATED 2023] How to Share Games on Steam (Family sharing) (FULL walkthrough)

In this video I will show you how to use Family sharing on Steam and how to share a game to a friend or a family friend!

Transcript for the second part of the video:
Once you click OK, the games should appear in his Steam Library, the only difference
is that it will say that it is borrowed by someone else. Also, you still have to download
the game as you normally would for the game that you own.

Now that I have shown you how to share the steam libraries
I am going to show you a couple of scenarios that
you are definitely going to run into while using someone's else library.

Scenario number 1: Can you play the same game from the same library at the same time?
NO, you cannot. You cannot only have 1 copy of the game and using multiple accounts
to use that copy of the game at the same time.

Scenario number 2: Can you play a different game from the same library at the same time?
NO, you cannot even do that. You can only use someone's Steam library
when they are not using it, meaning they are not playing any game in their own Steam
library. You can enable a steam notification in Settings where we were before to send
you a popup when someone's library became free and you can use it.

However, beware because if your friend logs back into his account and wants to play
you will get a 15 minute disconnect timer after which you will be disconnected from
his library. If he's being very mean, he can even go into settings and unauthorize you
which will imediately disconnect you.
So, when is Steam family sharing even useful?
Mostly it is not but there are 2 scenarios:

Scenario number 1: When your friend is offline and you are playing the game from his
library.
Scenario number 2: When your friend and you are playing from each other's library.
So, the rule is 1 Steam library equals 1 concurrent Steam account using it!

Time stamps:
0:00 Introduction
0:08 Navigating settings
0:15 Family section in settings
0:30 Authorize Steam account
1:30 How it looks in Steam library
2:05 Can you play the same game from the same library at the same time?
2:20 Can you play a different game from the same library at the same time?
2:35 Enable Steam notification for Steam library availability
2:50 Disadvatanges of Steam sharing
3:28 When your friend is offline and you are playing the game from his
library.
3:35 When your friend and you are playing from each other's library.

[GuideEver]

Mainly, the new interface/UI has changed and thus might be confusing for some viewers. I also added extra chapter sections for easier navigation through the video. :)

[matjazvulhar]

thank you so much, thank god you were the only one who actually started talking about the thing i came here for in the first 5 seconds and not after 30 seconds of useless rambling, liked and subbed

[Wildlifter]

I have an incredible tip for you guys and it is an exploit that steam has not patched yet, if you share your steam library with your friend and you disconnect the internet you can access your games in offline mode and your friend can also play the games they want, just works with account host disconnect their internet, your friend could also disconnect internet and access in offline mode, but it won't work with all games (for some reason accessing games that are not from your library in offline mode steam detects that your account does not have the key so you will not be able to access them, but with some games it does work, not with all, obviously mostly offline games) now if you do not want to disconnect the internet from your PC just to share your games, through the windows firewall you can create an exception so that individual applications are blocked from accessing the internet, for which case it would be Steam, you remove access to the internet through the windows firewall and so steam would be left without internet but your PC would continue with internet and thus access the offline mode of steam and you would have internet and do everything normally.
It would be preferable that the one who is left without internet access is the owner of the games, so that your friends can enter their steam in connected mode with all its normal functionalities, and get the notification that you can access the owner's library of the games.

I hope it works for everyone ❤ ;)

[BostjanCegelj]

thanks for this video man <3 so good, so straight to the point!!

[forzahorizonnn]

Thats what i wanted to know,
Thank you for the tutorial

[naitomea_st]

Damn. Nice feature but falls short 😢

We have two comupters at ny house. I wish me and my nephew could play different games at the same time.

[Heartwing]

Thank you! No article I found about said that they would have to log on to my computer. I couldn’t figure out how to send an invite

[kshitij_chhokar]

Hey man thanks for the tutorial, i just have a few questions
I mainly do cloud gaming so do both the users get seperate saves or both have to play from the same saveslot for a game like rdr2 or gta or anything?
Or does the other user log in with their steam account and it becomes available with new cloud saves?

[marina.delmar]

So this didn't work. Logged in with the other steam account on my PC, logged out, logged in as me and I see " No account has been authorized for Family Library Sharing yet." No accounts to check off.

[demondragon]

old vid, but if i wanna play a game with friends but i dont own it, could i family share with two people who both have the game so when ones offline i can play on his "library" and then vice versa?

[alt_dragon]

For me when my friend clicks ok it doesent show him games in my library and fixes?!?

[Eddiebalog]

what if im trying to share with myself? like if one account has a game that the other doesnt

[agchvjjv]

Thanks for your video but it's not working for me. I have followed your instructions everything is checked on both my account and my sons account on his PC. Everything is as you said but my games are not showing up on my sons account and his games are not showing on mine.

[TheDrunkenDudes]

bro I did everything but I go to the game on my account and it just says purchase

[ringedcreator]

What if we both own the same game and then share our librarys? Can we both still play that game at the same time

[mrpax]

So when doing Family sharing on steam on a game like RDR2 where its single player. In their end or their steam acc do they access my saved stuff on RDR2 or do they start like all over, a fresh game on their end?

[evilmurlock]

2:25 This is so bad. I share an acount with my borther, and now we cant play diferent games ON THE SAME ACOUNT. This used to work for like 20 years and now they stoped it for some reaons.
They prevent me from accesing my own property. That is a crime.

[AbangPisang]

it ask to purchase? event ho family sharing is available

[Skorb-]

Why does it say I have to purchase the game again?

[Noumakara]

Some questions: 1) will cloud save work? 2) will trading card drop?