Gamers will be able to share their Steam digital libraries with friends and family so they can try out games, Valve Software announced on Wednesday.
Valve's Steam Family Sharing program will allow Steam users to authorize a trusted family member or friend's computer, and that person will then be able to view the gamer's entire Steam library. The friend can then download and play any of those games, earning her own achievements and storing it all on her own save file. A user can share his library with up to 10 other Steam accounts.
See also: 10 Excellent PC Games for Less Than $10
There is a catch: if the lender logs on to Steam and wants to play any game, even if it's not the one being borrowed, the borrower will be given a notification that she either needs to purchase the game for herself or quit the game. In this sense, the lender is sending the entire Steam account to his friend, but the two can't share the account concurrently. Additionally, items earned or purchased in-game are restricted to the Steam account they were earned on.
"Our customers have expressed a desire to share their digital games among friends and family members, just as current retail games, books, DVDs, and other physical media can be shared," said Anna Sweet of Valve in a press release. "Family Sharing was created in direct response to these user requests."
Steam users can request access to the Family Sharing program, which is in closed beta. Users will be notified by email by Valve if they are invited to join.
The policy almost mimics the now-cancelled Xbox One account sharing, where an Xbox Live user could authorize 10 accounts as family members that could share games.
Bonus: 5 Games You Should Play This Week
There are some games that stick with you forever, and one of those is Outlast. This modern take on a survival horror will make you scream at your computer, but will also leave you wanting more.
In Outlast, you play a journalist sent to investigate mysterious happenings in an insane asylum. After breaking in, you're confronted by horrible monsters, and must try to stay alive, with only a camcorder for light. The game is truly terrifying, and will leave your heart pounding.
Outlast is available on PC via Steam for $19.99.
Out this week, Rayman Legends is the perfect fix for your platforming itch.
The game, a sequel to 2011's Rayman Origins, lets players control up to four characters, as they explore over 120 different worlds, which are vivid and beautiful. What's more, the challenge levels are totally unique.
Rayman Legends is out now for Wii U -- a system in need of new games -- as well as the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, with Vita support.
If you missed the 2012 release of Diablo III, you can pick it up for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 this week.
This version has everything players enjoyed from Diablo III, though you'll have to re-learn to play the game on a controller instead of a mouse and keyboard. The game does do away with the oft-complained-about Auction House system from the PC/Mac version. It also incorporates all the patches applied to the game since its release last May.
There's also a version for next-generation consoles in the works, as well, though Blizzard hasn't set a release date for it.
As we wait for the next Call of Duty title to drop for console and PC, Activision has created a new mobile title to tide fans over.
Call of Duty: Strike Team is an iOS game that gives players first-person shooter action in the Black Ops II universe, but also mixes up the gameplay by allowing users to play in third-person. You can switch to a more tactical mode to control your squad with touch commands, giving you a better vantage of enemies. The game brings all the explosions and drama of CoD to mobile.
Call of Duty: Strike Team is out now for iOS [
There is something really bizarre and special about Adult Swim games, which always manage to turn the craziest ideas into something completely addictive.
The same can be said for Giant Boulder of Death in which you control the titular boulder as it careens down a mountainside. You'll smash villages of lederhosen-wearing folk on your way to the bottom of the mountain, all to a soundtrack of yodeling.
Giant Boulder of Death is out for free on iOS [iTunes link].
Image: Robert Couse-Baker, Flickr