Valve's Steam Families update is now available to all users

The new Steam Families system is now officially available for both Steam Desktop and Steam Deck after Valve's stable Steam Client Update. This system had been in Beta since March.

A group can invite up to five family members, who will then have access to a shared family library. Each member can create their own save files and collect achievements for games in the family library. Although the stable client update does not include Steam Game Recording, it does introduce some UI changes to prepare for it. To access Steam Game Recording, users will still need to be opted into the Beta, but hopefully, this will be included in a stable update soon.

The major development with the new family feature is that multiple group members can now play games from the shared library simultaneously. So if I’m playing Black Myth: Wukong, and my partner, who is part of my Steam Family, wants to play Space Marine 2, we can both play those games at the same time. However, if my partner wants to play Black Myth: Wukong while I’m already playing it, she’ll need to buy an additional copy. With Steam Families, you can play shared games offline, too. However, it's important to note that the game developer may choose not to support the family sharing feature. Steam maintains a list of titles with family sharing enabled.

Steam Families also integrates the features of the previous Steam Family View, allowing adults to monitor and restrict the activities of children in the group on the platform. Any adult in the family can limit children's access to the Steam store, communities, or chat. They can also set playtime limits, approve extensions to the limits, and recover a child's account if the password is lost.

Although this type of family sharing plan may not suit every household, Steam imposes some restrictions on the utilization of Steam Families. Adults can leave a family group at any time but have to wait a year before they can join or create another family. Additionally, Steam accounts need to be in the same country to join a family group.

To start using Steam Families, users need to update their Steam client. The latest Steam client update also includes several other updates, such as a redesigned screenshots manager. More information detailing new rules that Steam Families members will need to follow is available here. And as always, remember to use our comparison tool to find the best deals on your next favorite game.