Steam could soon allow sharing of games

Valve might be taking a page out of Microsoft’s book when it comes to digital copies of games. A user on the NeoGAF forums has discovered that in the latest beta client for digital distribution platform Steam, a couple of lines have been added that hint at the ability to lend Steam games to friends.

• "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."

Sharing games on Steam is quite an awesome idea

Microsoft’s next-gen console—the Xbox One—has a system in place where you can share your games library with up to ten members of your 'family'. The new update to Steam might very well be in response to the Xbox One’s sharing capabilities.

Currently, Valve is trying out another major feature on Steam. Dubbed Steam Trading Cards, the service gives access to virtual cards that are earned by playing games on Steam. Getting enough cards will net players rewards. To be eligible to win trading cards, players will have to play games that are participating. Up to half of a game’s card set is dropped through gameplay, while the other half has to be created by combining already-collected trading cards.

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At the moment, the Trading Card service is in the beta stage, but joining the beta is relatively simple. All you have to do is join the Steam Group for Steam Trading Cards. Steam will send out email notifications along with some extra invites to members on a first-come first-serve basis.