How do you Game Share on Xbox? It's a question we hear all the time, and for good reason. This is a fantastic way to share your Xbox Game Pass library, your digital games, your Xbox Live Gold membership and other things with friends and family on your "Home" console, and it's really easy to do. But... there are some things you need to know as well.
Let's get those out of the way. Keep these all-important considerations in mind:
- If the Game Sharer is using a different console and loses connection, they'll temporarily lose access to their games
- It only applies for digital games
Lots of people evidently use game sharing to share their digital game libraries with a trusted friend in another location (which you should do at your own risk!). Here's what Microsoft says about the feature on the Xbox Support website:
"Friends and family that sign in to your home Xbox have access too, even when you're not signed in. For instance, a family member can play your games when you're not using your console—they just need to sign in to it with their Xbox profile."
"You can download, play, and share your digital games on any Xbox console without having to switch your home Xbox. This is handy if you have a second console or play on a friend's console. Everyone can enjoy your games if the console is online and everyone is signed in to the Xbox network."
With the boring bit done, let's take a look at how to Game Share on Xbox, and what exactly it is. And yes, there is a way to game share on Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, and you'll find instructions below to suit all three!
What Is Game Sharing On Xbox?
As the title suggests, Xbox Game Sharing is a way to share your games with someone else. It works by setting up a console as your "Home" console, which means everyone who uses it will get access to your stuff at no extra charge.
How To Game Share On Xbox
The process of Game Sharing on Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S is pretty simple. First, you need to access your chosen console, and set it up as your "Home" device. Here's exactly how to change your Home Xbox:
- Sign into the console using your Gamertag
- Press the "Guide" button on your controller and navigate to 'Apps', followed by 'Settings'
- Select the 'Personalization' option
- Choose 'My Home Xbox', and then tick the box for 'Make This My Home Xbox'
Now, anyone who signs into that Xbox will be able to access your content. If you also want to use a second console to play your games, you can still do that by signing in with your gamertag, but you must always be online in order to access your content — as your "Home" Xbox is the one that takes priority. Hopefully that makes sense!
And that's it! That's how to Game Share on Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S! Easy, right?
How To Game Share On Xbox Game Pass
If you activate Game Sharing on Xbox, all you need to do is become an active Xbox Game Pass member in order to share your subscription with everyone on your "Home" console.
The same applies for Xbox Live Gold, EA Play, and a few other things.
How To Remove Someone From Xbox Game Sharing
If for some reason you want to remove someone from sharing your games, you'll need to change your "Home" console to the one you're currently using. Your games will remain installed on the other console, but nobody will be able to play them. If you're both using the same console, however, they will still be able to access those titles.
Keep in mind that you can only change your "Home" Xbox console five times per-year.
So there you go! That's how to Game Share on Xbox, and as you can see, it's a really easy process.
Do you use Xbox Game Sharing? Let us know down in the comments section below.
Comments 7
My brother and I have been doing this since it's inception. Very useful Indeed
Does it allow you both to play a mutiplayer game at the same Time?
@BartoxTharglod odd... As far as I know, Xbox has always encouraged this behavior, albeit quietly, and has not placed any restrictions on it. They talk about it on the support section of their site and there's no mention of anything like that. https://support.xbox.com/en-US/help/hardware-network/console/my-home-xbox
I have also heard anecdotally that people have used this to play multiplayer games with just one person having paid for the game/subscription, but I haven't yet tried it myself.
@BartoxTharglod good to know. I was thinking of using this with a friend if/when he gets around to picking up an Xbox, but I'll think again. No way I'm risking my account getting banned
Been using this since it has been a thing.
Did something similar with disc games where you could start it up, pop the disc out the top, and it would still keep playing.
It is fantastic. Especially with two Series Xs and my girlfriend having similar tastes. Allows us to play the same things, even together.
I can also easily say that if Microsoft ever does away with this, whatever I have at the time will be the last Xbox I ever buy. If I'm going to have to buy games twice anyway, I might as well stick to consoles with more/better features like my Switch or PS5.
I've been doing this for years so that my wife can access my Game Pass subscription on her console. And I'll keep doing it until Microsoft finally comes up with a proper family plan for Game Pass.
Even if you don’t gameshare/have no plans to/are the only that uses your console…you should still set your Xbox as your ‘home console’. You won’t be able to play your digital games offline if you don’t…meaning if you lose connection, the digital games you own you’re locked out of playing.
Setting your Xbox to home console also allows you to play gamepass games you e installed offline.
Show Comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...