NeoGAF has managed to spot a few lines of code that could indicate a game sharing feature coming to a future version of Steam.
The lines of code were found in the latest update to the Steam Beta and the phrase ‘shared game’ is clearly used a couple of times:
- “SteamUI_JoinDialog_SharedLicense_Title” “Shared game library”
- “SteamUI_JoinDialog_SharedLicenseLocked_OwnerText” “Just so you know, your games are currently in use by %borrower%. Playing now will send %borrower% a notice that it’s time to quit.”
- “SteamUI_JoinDialog_SharedLicenseLocked_BorrowerText” “This shared game is currently unavailable. Please try again later or buy this game for your own library.”
The first line of code, which names a ‘Shared game library,’ could be a new category to view your games in, and would show the games you’re currently sharing with other people. Judging by the latter two lines of code, it would seem that Steam would keep you informed as to which titles are being shared and are currently in use, should you somehow forget.
Steam/Valve has yet to say anything about this or any new features that may be coming to the digital platform, but you couldn’t be blamed for seeing this as a silent response to the Xbox One not allowing consumers to borrow or loan games.
I guess we’ll find out (or not) in the near future.