Hello SevenForums!
My question is simple.
If I buy a game on my laptop and download it to my Library, will it appear on my other computer too, without buying it once again?
I won't beat a dead horse buying the game twice of course
Best Regards,
FredeGail
You can use STEAM on any PC you choose.
The games are tied to your account, not a PC.
The only exception are a few games that require 3rd party activation. For example a SecROM game. It may only allow a limited amount of activations at any given time.
The Store Page will indicate if it has any 3rd party DRM though, and the details.
If you use Steamguard though, youll need to supply not only your account name and PW, but a unlock code which is emailed to you, for the other PC to access your account.
This is a good thing IMHO, and would suggest using it.
Also, bear in mind only 1 PC may be online at a time.
So you can NOT, for example, have Steam in Online mode on both PCs, and play a Co-Op of Left4Dead 2.
Youll need 2 seperate accounts and 2 copies of the game for something like that.
If the game is in your Library and you have set up a network with sharing permissions the game will be available to use on any computer on the network because you are still accessing it from the computer it's installed on.
you ask if the game will appear on your second computer - yes it will - but it won't actually get downloaded.
if it's a big game, then you probably won't want to download all those gigabytes again, so i suggest you backup your game files, stick them on an external drive, and install them onto the second machine from there.
then keep those backed-up games on that external drive so you can re-install them in the future.
you own the game, and it is linked to your account, so if you install steam on another machine, and login to your account, that game will still be on your list - you don't have to buy it again, no, and you probably don't want to download it all again...that's why i suggested backing up your game files, and install the game from your backup files - it will be a lot quicker if it's a big multi-gigabyte download.
Quote