How to Share Steam Game Library on Steam Deck

With its tens of thousands of games, Valve’s Steam provides a straightforward option for its users to share their game library with friends or family. The main goal of this is to make it possible for parents and children to play games together without affecting each other’s progress, achievements, or saves. The other objective is to give access to someone who is not a member of the family, such as a friend. You can utilize the Family Library Sharing function to try out a friend’s game to determine whether purchasing it is worthwhile. If you don’t know how to do Steam family sharing feature on your Steam Deck then this article can help you show the way.

The Steam Deck is a handheld gaming hardware created by Valve. Like the Nintendo Switch, you can use the Steam Deck to play while you’re traveling around or by connecting it to an external display. Even PC games can be played on this system if they are purchased from the Steam store. The Proton compatibility layer allows for this. Users of Steam Decks can add any essential programs, including new non-Steam games and various operating systems, as the software is an open platform.

Steam Deck Technical Specifications

Processor:

AMD APU
CPU: Zen 2 4c/8t, 2.4-3.5GHz (up to 448 GFlops FP32)
GPU: 8 RDNA 2 CUs, 1.0-1.6GHz (up to 1.6 TFlops FP32)
APU power: 4-15W

RAM: 16 GB LPDDR5 on-board RAM (5500 MT/s quad 32-bit channels)

Storage:

64 GB eMMC (PCIe Gen 2 x1)
256 GB NVMe SSD (PCIe Gen 3 x4 or PCIe Gen 3 x2*)
512 GB high-speed NVMe SSD (PCIe Gen 3 x4 or PCIe Gen 3 x2*)

Resolution: 1280 x 800px (16:10 aspect ratio)

Display size: 7″ diagonal

Brightness: 400 nits typical

Refresh rate: 60Hz

Touch enabled: Yes

Sensors: Ambient light sensor

Bluetooth: Bluetooth 5.0 (support for controllers, accessories and audio)

Wi-Fi: Dual-band Wi-Fi radio, 2.4GHz and 5GHz, 2 x 2 MIMO, IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac

Channels: Stereo with embedded DSP for an immersive listening experience

Microphones: Dual microphone array

Headphone / mic jack: 3.5mm stereo headphone / headset jack

Digital: Multichannel audio via DisplayPort over USB-C, standard USB-C, or Bluetooth 5.0

Input: 45W USB Type-C PD3.0 power supply

Battery: 40Whr batteries. 2 – 8 hours of gameplay

microSD: UHS-I supports SD, SDXC and SDHC

External connectivity for controllers & displays: USB-C with DisplayPort 1.4 Alt-mode support; up to 8K @60Hz or 4K @120Hz, USB 3.2 Gen 2

Steam Family Sharing or Library Sharing on your Steam Deck

A few restrictions apply to Family Library Sharing. For starters, in order to share or access the shared gaming library, you need an online connection. Your friend will encounter an error and be prevented from accessing your Steam library if the internet connection drops while they are trying to do so.

Also, owing to technical restrictions, not all games can be shared. This is due to the possibility that certain game publishers will decline to provide Valve access to share their goods. A game is probably not shareable at all if you try to share it and get an error message about Family Library Sharing not having authorization to share.

Last but not least, no two accounts can use the same game simultaneously. This is relevant to a Steam game that you own but that is not free to play. For instance, if you lend your friend the game, they can only use it while you are not playing it yourself. Your friend will lose access to the game if you load it when the both of you are playing the same game.

Steam Library or Steam Family Sharing feature

Step 1: Press the Steam Button.

Step 2: Go to Settings.

Step 3: Go to Family Section tab.

Step 4: Enable Authorize library sharing on this device.

Step 5: Select the family member or multiple users to which you can share games to activate family sharing feature for your Steam library.

The account should now have the ability to download and install the games from your library. You can grant access to your game library to up to 5 accounts.