Fariha Bhatti 
Steam Families is available now but while you might be excited about the idea of sharing games with friends and family members, you also need to be really careful with it.
Steam Families is an upgraded and polished version of game sharing that introduces more role-based controls, allowing adults to manage the games their children can access. The system exited beta and is now live in the client, introducing a new “Family” tab as of September 11, 2024. Previously, Valve offered a game-sharing feature, which was quite limited, as only one member could access a shared game at a time.
Conversely, multiple Steam Family members can play a game simultaneously, so long as there are enough copies for each of them. For example, if two copies of Black Myth: Wukong exist within a family, any two members can play it at the same time.
That’s not the only valuable feature. The upgraded game-sharing feature offers heightened control to the principal owner, who can add multiple family members. Here’s how many can be added at one time, but why people need to be careful about this.
How many members can you add to Steam Families?
Steam Families is intended for a household of up to six family members, all of whom must be in the same region.
Players can select their six members through the Steam client. This is done through the new “Family” section in the Steam settings, allowing players to join or create a family. Note that members don’t need to be related by blood but must be located in the same region as the owner. This feature is strictly region-locked, likely due to the varied game prices between regions.
Steam Families currently allows only 6 members at a time. However, according to Valve, the member restriction may change in the future based on player feedback. The feature has some strict boundaries for how members access it. For example, if a user leaves a Steam Family, they will be subject to a 1-year waiting period from the date they initially joined the previous family before they can create or join a new one.
Be careful about who’s in your Steam family, though!
Game bans apply to all linked accounts in a Steam family. This means the owner should keep a watchful eye on members.
As any game bans incurred by individual accounts will also affect the owner, a player using cheats or illegal mods will result in everyone in the family being banned from the game. This is also important for games that have mods, as some games will even ban players for unofficial changes that don’t impact gameplay.
For games with multiplayer modes that carry a price tag like Halo: The Master Chief Collection, Guilty Gear Strive, and Rainbow Six Siege, players should make sure they’re not letting people into their Steam Families plan lightly.
