MeinMMO editor Benedikt has been using a feature on Steam for a few years now. This saves him a lot of money each year.
What is the feature? Steam introduced the new feature “Steam Family” in 2024. However, the feature could already be tested in the official beta since March 2024. Meanwhile, the feature is officially integrated into Steam, making it easy to use.
In the last 2 years, my wife and I have saved several hundred euros with it. Because many games no longer need to be purchased twice; one license of the game is sufficient.
“Steam Family” has saved me money in daily life for 2 years
Since when have I been using the feature? I have been using “Steam Family” since March 2024 with my wife. The big advantage: Games that either my wife or I purchase are usually also available on the other account. Also convenient: The DLCs of a game can also be used through “Steam Family”.
The old “Family Sharing” was much more restrictive: If my wife played a title from my account, I was locked out. With “Steam Family”, other people can use games from my account, but I can still use another title simultaneously.
But there are exceptions: Games from Ubisoft, Electronic Arts, or generally third-party launchers do not support “Steam Family”.
Why is it worth it? In the last 2 years, my wife and I have saved a lot of money, especially for larger games that interest both of us.
One of us buys the game and the other can also use it without having to invest money directly:
- For example, my wife bought Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma, and I could also check it out without having to buy it myself.
- FANTASY LIFE i: The Time Thief was also purchased by my wife, and later I could play it calmly for a few hours.
- My wife could now try Crimson Desert through my account to find out that it is not her game after all. That saved us 60 euros.
Other notable games include Monster Hunter: Stories 3, Stellar Blade, the survival game Enshrouded, or Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance. Otherwise, it would have been 50 or 60 euros every time if we had both bought the game.
Additionally, “Steam Family” has another significant advantage: You can simply try out games and do not have to adhere to Steam’s return policy if your partner is excited about the game and wants to keep it anyway.
In my opinion, Steam’s return policy sometimes falls short in everyday life: After 2 hours, you have barely seen enough of the game to really know if you want to return it. Crimson Desert is a game where, after 2 hours, you have hardly seen anything of the game world. In other games, you might not even be finished with the tutorial after 2 hours.
Where does the advantage end? As soon as my wife and I want to use co-op or multiplayer, Steam Family
reaches its limits, as a single license cannot be used by two accounts simultaneously. We both purchased games like Coral Island and My Time at Sandrock. That is something to keep in mind when using the feature.
By the way, I am also excited about a recently introduced feature of Steam. Because now you can indicate on Steam which PC hardware you are using when playing. So far, the function is purely optional, but I still consider it an important improvement: Steam fulfills an important wish of players: You can finally admit when you have bad PC hardware
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