Valve’s “Family Sharing” program enters limited-Beta next week, where users can lend their complete libraries to friends and family members curious about PC gaming.

The “Steam Family Sharing” program enters its limited-Beta phase next week; while anyone can sign up for the Beta by joining the Steam group, access will only be given to a small amount of members. The program allows for current Steam users to share games across authorized computers; up to ten devices can be authorized and shared with a single Steam user. Family and friends on authorized PC’s can request access to specific games from the user’s library, to then play on their own computers. While most titles will be eligible for sharing, games with third-party log-in screens (Games for Windows LIVE, Rockstar Social Club, etc.) cannot be used by anyone other than the original buyer.

If the buyer/lender owns DLC for a shared title, that DLC will be made available to all shared users, however shared users cannot purchase DLC of their own. Games that have been shared between users will have two separate save data logs within Steam Cloud- one for the original buyer of the game, and one for the shared member. The original user and shared members can’t play the same title simultaneously; if the original buyer starts playing a game currently in use by a shared member, they will be given the option of purchasing the game for their own Steam account, or to close the title.

Those who participate in the Beta and/or the public release of Steam Family Sharing should take extra precautions as to whom they share their libraries with; shared members who cheat in-game will cause the Family Sharing access of the original user to be restricted.

Steam users interested in the limited-Beta can sign up by joining the Steam Family Sharing group.

Source: Steam