Valve has introduced Steam Families to all users on the platform. This new system replaces the previous Steam Family Sharing and Steam Family View features, offering a more centralized way to manage game access within families. With Steam Families, members can create their family group, inviting up to five users and providing them with access to various functionalities.
The new Family Sharing aspect functions similarly to its predecessor, allowing family members to play games from each other’s libraries while still retaining ownership of their individual game collections. Users are able to continue growing their libraries without limitations.
When setting up a Steam Family, individuals can be categorized as either adults or children. Adults have the ability to manage invitations and establish account restrictions. A notable addition to Steam Families is the introduction of child purchase requests, streamlining the process of buying games for children by enabling kids to request game purchases that can be approved or declined by the adult.
Steam Families has introduced a new payment feature where a child account can request an adult within the family to pay for their shopping cart. The parent can authorize and complete the transaction via their mobile device or email, adding all selected games to the child’s account upon acceptance.
Parents can further utilize parental control tools within Steam Families to oversee and regulate their children’s gaming activities. These functionalities include restricting access to games, the Steam Store, Community and Friends chat, setting playtime limits on hourly or daily basis, and reviewing playtime statistics. Adults can also manage requests from child accounts for additional playtime or feature access, either temporarily or permanently, and help recover a child’s account in case of a lost password.
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