Will Hogwarts Legacy’s Deluxe Edition early access work with Steam Family Share?

With Hogwarts Legacy finally gearing up for its official release in a couple of days, fans of the Wizarding World are quite excited to finally try out Avalanche Software’s upcoming title.

The RPG will release on February 10, 2023, for all the major platforms, including PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series One, Xbox Series X|S, PC via Steam and Epic Games, as well as the Nintendo Switch.

However, those who have pre-ordered the digital Deluxe Edition of the game will be able to start enjoying it on early access as it will be made available to them on February 7, 2023.

This has also led many in the PC community to wonder if they and their friends will be able to enjoy early access on Steam’s Family Share if one of them owns the Deluxe edition. Fortunately, WB Games Support has confirmed that Hogwarts Legacy’s early access will be playable on Steam Family Share. However, there will be a fair amount of limitations that players will be subjected to.

Hogwarts Legacy will allow Steam Family Share access

While Hogwarts Legacy will allow players and their friends to try the early access through the Steam Family share feature, one will only be able to play the title if the host’s library is not in use.

Moreover, the shared DLC will only be made available if the person who is borrowing the library does not already own the game. This means that if a player already has a copy of the base game purchased in their Steam Library, they will not be able to access the extra content present on their friend’s account via the Family Share feature.

The Steam Family Share feature also requires players to have constant access to the internet connection.

This is because Steam will not allow the borrower to continue playing Hogwarts Legacy if the host logs in, hence a constant internet connection is required when trying out the title with the share feature.

While the platform will not kick players out instantly as soon as the host logs in, the borrower will get a time limit, within which they will be required to safely log off.

The Family Share feature is more about trying out a title before purchasing it. Much like with a playable demo, the feature will let players try out the game on their friend’s library, and help them in deciding if they want to permanently add it to their library.