Valve launches Steam Families for game-sharing with up to 6 users, and parental control

Valve has introduced Steam Families, an updated family-sharing feature for its Steam PC gaming service. The new feature allows users to establish a Steam Families section, and inviting up to five family members to share access to games owned by any of the six group members. Each member can play any game owned by the group, with their own save games, achievements, and custom files. Multiple family members can also play the same game simultaneously if multiple copies are owned.

Steam Families also incorporates parental controls, allowing parents to manage their children's gaming activities, including setting access to appropriate games, limiting access to the Steam Store, Community, or Friends Chat, and establishing playtime limits. Parents can also supervise playtime reports and approve or deny requests for additional playtime or feature access from child accounts.

To access this new feature, users must join the Steam Family Beta in their client settings under "Interface". No release date announced yet for universal availability of Steam Families, but it's expected soon.