Steam is a popular video game platform, where users can browse and purchase a large range of video games. Users can also use Steam to play their purchased video games.
Steam also has a series of additional features, such as the chat feature and VR compatibility.
Since the program has these extra features, it’s common to wonder whether it also allows users to transfer games across different Steam accounts.
How to transfer Steam games to another account – Is it possible?
The simple answer to this question is no. You can’t transfer a Steam game across different accounts.
When you purchase a Steam game, the account you used will own the game license permanently. This license can’t be transferred to another account.
Otherwise, users would transfer a game from its original Steam account to their friends once they’ve completed certain games, which would be a little unfair on video game publishers.
The same applies for any Steam keys you purchase from third-party sources. Once you activate the key on a Steam account, the key/license is bound to the account permanently and can’t be transferred.
The only way to get a copy of the game onto a different account is by purchasing the game on said account.
There are two different things you can do if you want to play games from your primary Steam account on another. One option is to get a refund, which would allow you to buy the game again on another account.
The better option is to start Family Library Sharing games with other accounts, which is simple enough to do – this can allow multiple accounts access to the same game.
Using Steam Shared Library – How to Share Games on Steam
Despite there not being a feature for transferring games across accounts, there is a way to share your games with other Steam users. These need to be genuinely purchased games, and not cracked versions.
Related: Steam ban for pirated games?
Steam has a feature called Family Sharing, which allows users to share their games library with others. The feature is completely free to use, and will let others play games available in your library (and vice versa).
The amount of users you can share a library with is limited, so be careful when choosing who to use the feature with.
The owner of the library will still own the games found within it, but they can authorise other users to give them access to those games.
Each user will be able to play the games on their own devices from their own accounts. Their game progress will also be their own independent from the library owner’s.
However, a downside to this feature is that a shared library can only be used by one user at any given time.
The owner of the library will be given priority if there happens to be more than one user active at the same time. Consequently, no more than one user can play the games in the library at one time.
You can gain access to the Family Sharing feature through two different methods. You can also use the feature on more than one Steam account.
Before setting up Family Sharing, ensure that each account involved in the process has Steam Guard turned on. You can enable Steam Guard in the Steam application.
Go to Steam > Settings > Account.
If Steam Guard is already enabled, there will be a green shield icon next to ‘status’. If this is not the case, click, ‘Steam guard account security’. Select one of the ‘get Steam Guard codes’ options.
You must also make sure that you enable Family Sharing. To do so, go to Steam > Settings > Family. Check the box next to ‘authorise library sharing on this computer’.
Finally, make sure that all accounts involved have had a turn at logging in on the Steam app.
Requesting Access
The first method for setting up Family Sharing is by having every non-owner request to access the Steam library. Have one of the non-owners log into their Steam account.
Next, click on ‘library’. Choose a game you want access to and click ‘play’. You should then be asked to request access to it. The owner should be sent an email about the request. The email can be found in their Steam inbox.
Now, the owner must log into Steam and open the email. There should be a link for them to click, which will grant the non-owner access to the game.
The owner can log in on a different device. You can manage the different devices by going to Steam > Settings > Family and clicking ‘manage other computers’.
Authorising Accounts
The second method for setting up Family Sharing is by having the library owner add users they’d like to grant access to. You should be able to do this at any Steam level.
Also read: How to Level Up on Steam
Go to Steam > Settings > Family. There should be a list of local accounts available. Check the box next to the accounts you wish to authorise.
On the other hand, if you simply wish to cancel an accidental purchase, you can ask for a refund.
A Steam purchase can be refunded if no more than two weeks have passed since the purchase date. The game must also have a total playtime of less than two hours total.
How to refund a Steam purchase
Go to https://store.steampowered.com/ and log into your Steam account. Then, go to https://help.steampowered.com/en/ and click ‘purchases’.
A list of your recent purchases should be shown. Find the game you wish to refund and click on it. If the game isn’t in your recent purchases, click ‘view complete purchasing history’ to view all your purchases.
Click ‘I would like a refund’.
Click ‘I’d like to request a refund’.
Conclusion
In conclusion, much like you can’t transfer Steam Wallet funds back to PayPal, there is no way to transfer Steam games across different accounts.
Once you purchase or activate a license on one account, the license is bound to that account.
Many people wonder whether it is even possible to transfer Steam games across accounts, and whether there’s a way around this restriction. Though you can’t transfer Steam games to another account, there is an alternative.
Fortunately, if you wish to simply share games across accounts, you can use the Family Sharing feature. This allows users to share their Steam library games with other accounts.
