Family Sharing is now available on Stadia via Google family group

What you need to know

• Members of a Google family group can now share games on their Stadia account.
• Sharing does not require an active Stadia Pro subscription.
• Save data will be stored for each user independently.

The Google Stadia cloud gaming platform has just gotten more appealing thanks to the launch of a family sharing plan that allows users to give other players access to their games libraries.

A Google family group, which could previously be used to share access to YouTube TV or Google Play purchases, now also allows sharing of Stadia games. Sharing games doesn't require a Stadia Pro account, but if you've claimed one of the games available for free with the subscription you'll lose access if you stop paying for the membership.

Every member of the group will have their own save data for the game, and they won't lose that data if the game stops being shared with you. It will be accessible again if you purchase the game on your own account or the sharing is restored.

There are some key restrictions on the service. You cannot share add-on content such as in-game currency and you won't be able to play the shared game if someone else is currently using it. You'll see an icon indicating the game is in use, which might be disapointing but at least means no one can kick you off accidentally.

The manager of the family group will have the ability to add and remove group members and control payments. They also have options to set parental controls, and restrict games that are shared. Changes can be made via stadia.com or through the Stadia app.