Ever wanted to share your Steam games with your friends and family? Well soon you'll be able to, with Steam set to launch a limited beta of Family Sharing next week, a service that will allow you to share your entire game library with up to 10 other users. The idea with Family Sharing is that you'll be able to share games with "close friends and family members", although of course you could theoretically share games with anyone.
Users will be able to request access to someone's game library, and if granted, will be able to play any title found in that library, free of charge. Not only will you be able to play their games and any DLC associated, but you'll have the ability to upload your own save games to the Steam Cloud, and collect your own range of achievements.
Understandably, Valve have built in safeguards in the Family Sharing system to prevent abuse. The most important restriction is that only one user can access a person's game library at a time, and Steam will give access priority to the library owner. If the owner wants to access their game library while a friend is using it, the friend will be prompted to either save and exit the game within a few minutes, or purchase the game to continue playing.
If you want to gain early access to the Family Sharing feature, a limited beta will begin next week for some interested users that join the Family Sharing Steam group. Otherwise, you can head to the FAQ and learn more about how the system will work.