Technologies

Achievement Unlocked: You Should Be Using These 7 Steam Tips and Tricks

Whether you’re new to PC gaming or a seasoned pro, these tricks can level up your gaming experience.

Steam is a popular gaming platform that has about 120 million active monthly users, according to Finances Online. Steam lets you play PC games alone or with friends, and it’s compatible with third-party controllers. Plus, there are always sales on games, so you never run out of something fun to play.

If you know where to look, the service has more to offer than a massive selection of games and bundle deals. Here are a few tips and tricks every Steam user should know to get the most out of the platform.

Share your library with friends

If you have a massive gaming library through Steam, it’s possible to share with friends and family. You can select up to five users who can access and use your library across 10 devices that you’ve authorized.

Open the Steam app and click Steam in the top left corner of the screen. Select Settings (Windows) or Preferences (Mac) and choose Family in the side menu. Click the box that says Authorize Library Sharing on this computer.

You can also revoke access by clicking your username in the upper right corner of the Steam app and choosing Account Details in the drop-down menu. From there, scroll down to Family Settings and click Manage Family Library Sharing. Under Sharing Status, click Revoke on any devices or accounts you no longer wish to have access.

Turn on Steam Guard and two-factor authentication

steam-2 — Steam Guard can add an extra layer of security to your account.

Steam/Screenshot by Shelby Brown/CNET

Steam Guard can serve as a useful tool to provide an additional level of security against unauthorized access. To set it up on the desktop app or browser, click your username in the top right corner. Click Account Details in the drop-down menu and choose Manage Steam Guard under Account Security.

When Steam Guard is enabled, you can have codes sent to your phone or email, as well as deauthorize other computers or devices other than the one you’re currently using that might have saved your login information. Steam recommends sending Guard Codes to your phone to also serve as two-factor authentication.

Set up Family View

Family View can serve as a useful tool for adults who share an account with younger users. The feature lets families customize which parts of Steam are accessible to other users. To get started, log into the Steam account that your child will use, click the Steam menu in the top left corner and choose Settings (Preferences on Mac). Choose the Family tab and click Manage Family View.

Choose what the protected account can access in Family View like Only Games I Choose or All Games, as well as online content and social features. Once you’re satisfied with your choices, click Next.
If you selected Only Games I Choose, Steam will generate a list of all your games and you can individually click which games you want PIN-protected.
Click Next, verify your recovery email address and click Next again.
Create, enter and re-enter your PIN and click Next. Steam will send a verification code to your recovery email, enter that code when prompted and click Next to finalize the process.

To turn off Family View, return to Manage Family View and click Disable Family View.

How to use Remote Play Together

Steam Remote Play set up — If you set up Remote Play Together, this is what it’ll look like.

Screenshot by Shelby Brown/CNET

Steam’s Remote Play feature lets you play local multiplayer games with friends and family. One player owns and runs the game, and up to four players can join in. To find a list of compatible Remote Play games, open the Steam app, click Categories and choose Remote Play under Special Sections.

To start a session, launch your game, make sure your friends are logged in to Steam from their devices and open Steam Overlay in-game. Find your friends list and right-click the names of the people you want to play with, then click Remote Play Together. You can start playing after all your invitees have accepted.

How to make a Library Collection

Creating a new collection in Steam — Steam collections can help organize your library.

Screenshot by Shelby Brown/CNET

Steam keeps your games in alphabetical order on the left-hand side of the screen, but if you’ve got a massive library or want even more organization, you can create a Collection. In the Steam app, click Library and choose Collections. Name your collection and choose Create Collection. From there, just drag and drop any games you want to include. The collection will save automatically. Those games will be organized under the name of your collection in the left-hand side menu instead of the larger alphabetical list.

You can also choose Dynamic Collection by following the same steps. Dynamic Collections use filters to create collections that continuously update as you add more games to our library.

Add and play non-Steam games

You can play games that aren’t native to Steam on the platform pretty easily. To add a non-Steam game to your library, open the Steam app and click Add Game in the lower left corner of the screen. From there, click Add a Non-Steam Game.

Adding a non-steam game — Since I added Myst as a non-Steam game, there’s no information on its main page.

Screenshot by Shelby Brown/CNET

Steam will open a window that lists all the games found on your device. Check the box next to the game you want to add and click Add Selected Programs. If you don’t see the game you want, click Browse and Steam will expand your search results. Find the program you want and click Open. Make sure the program or game is checked in the Add a Game window and click Add Selected Programs.

You should then be able to see the game or program you added in your alphabetical library list on the left side of the screen. When you click the game, the page will likely have little to no information since it’s not native to steam.

Customize bandwidth

Adjust the bandwidth on Steam. — You can adjust the bandwidth to make Steam work faster or slower.

Screenshot by Shelby Brown/CNET

Because Steam uses the internet to download games, getting your gameplay going can take little to no time. But if your internet connection is slow, Steam downloading a game likely won’t leave any download speed for anything else. So, if you want to multitask during a download, you can limit Steam’s download speed.

Click Steam in the top left corner of the app and choose Settings (Preferences on Mac). Click Downloads and then check the box next to Limit Bandwidth To. From there, you can type in your preferred download speed and click OK. You can adjust or remove the limits at any time.

For more information, check out CNET’s review of the Steam Deck and how to install Steam on a Chromebook.

Technologies

Tesla to Release First-Quarter Earnings Following Market Close

Tesla’s stock has underperformed all of its megacap peers so far this year as global competition ramps up in the electric vehicle market.

Tesla is scheduled to release its first-quarter financial results after market hours on Wednesday.
Here are the key expectations from Wall Street, based on LSEG estimates:
— Projected earnings per share: 37 cents
— Anticipated revenue: $22.64 billion
Tesla’s stock has underperformed compared to other megacap stocks on Wall Street this year, dropping 14% as of Tuesday’s close, largely due to sluggish sales in its core automotive division. In contrast, the S&P 500 has risen by over 3%.
Analysts forecast a 17% revenue increase from $19.3 billion in the same period last year, marking the company’s strongest growth period since mid-2023.
The past year has been challenging due to competition from Chinese automakers like Xiaomi and BYD, which provide advanced yet more affordable models against Tesla’s aging electric vehicle lineup. Additionally, Tesla faces consumer backlash related to CEO Elon Musk’s involvement with the Trump administration, his provocative political statements, and support for far-right politicians.
Earlier this month, Tesla announced 358,023 vehicle deliveries for the first quarter, a decrease from the previous quarter but a 6% increase year-over-year. The company has experienced annual declines in deliveries for the past two years.
Musk has attempted to shift focus toward the company’s advancements in autonomous driving technology and humanoid robots. While Tesla is testing a limited number of driverless cars for its ride-hailing service in Texas, the company still depends heavily on EV sales for revenue and has not yet launched a vehicle ready for robotaxi operations.
Tesla offers an FSD (Supervised) system for $99 monthly, which requires a human supervisor to remain attentive and ready to take control at any moment. Recently, Tesla received approval to sell a version of FSD (Supervised) in the Netherlands and is pursuing wider European regulatory clearance.
In its delivery report, Tesla noted the deployment of 8.8 gigawatt hours of battery energy storage systems during the first quarter of 2026, falling short of Wall Street expectations after a record 14.2 gigawatt hours in Q4 2025.
Musk’s focus has been divided this quarter as he merged his aerospace and defense company SpaceX with his AI venture xAI in a $1.25 trillion deal. He is now preparing the combined entity for what is anticipated to be a historic IPO.
In Tesla’s January earnings report, the company disclosed investing approximately $2 billion in xAI, with holdings converted to SpaceX shares. Tesla and SpaceX are collaborating on numerous joint initiatives, including a Terafab chip manufacturing facility in Texas and deeper integration of xAI’s Grok models and AI chatbot into Tesla vehicles and robotics.
Investors who submitted questions online ahead of Wednesday’s earnings call inquired about Tesla and SpaceX’s ongoing collaboration and potential future merger.
Shareholders are also demanding concrete data on Tesla’s long-promised autonomous technology, timelines for unveiling the latest Optimus humanoid robots, and updates on its ride-hailing business, where it lags behind Alphabet’s Waymo in the U.S. and Baidu’s Apollo Go in China.
Tesla’s current Robotaxi service primarily relies on human drivers in California or human safety supervisors inside the vehicle. The company recently announced expansions to Dallas and Houston.
WATCH: Tesla can only trade on hopes about the future for so long, says Cramer

Technologies

LinkedIn, a Microsoft subsidiary, appoints veteran executive Dan Shapero as its new Chief Executive Officer

Microsoft’s LinkedIn has appointed veteran executive Dan Shapero as its new Chief Executive Officer, marking a significant leadership transition for the professional networking platform.

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Technologies

Retail Investors Can Now Access OpenAI Through Robinhood’s Venture Fund

Retail investors can now access OpenAI through Robinhood’s venture fund, allowing them to invest in the company’s long-term growth.

<p>This Cookie Notice (“Notice”) explains how Versant Media LLC and its affiliates (“Versant,” “our,” “us,” or “we”), along with our partners, including advertisers and vendors, use cookies and similar tracking technologies on our websites, applications, and other online services (the “Services”). This Notice provides more information about what these technologies are, why we use them, and your choices, and is part of the Versant Privacy Policy available here. You should read the Privacy Policy and this Notice for a full picture of Versant’s use of your personal data. Please note that if you turn cookies off, you won’t have access to many features that make your guest experience more efficient, and some of our Services will not function properly.
WHAT ARE COOKIES?
Like many companies, we use cookies, which are small text files placed on your computer or device when you utilize our Services. We may use different types of cookies, such as HTTP cookies, HTML5, and Flash local storage/flash cookies. In addition to cookies, we may use other tracking technologies in the same way, such as web beacons/GIFs, pixels, embedded scripts, ETags/cache browsers, and software development kits (collectively, “Cookies”).
Cookies may involve the automatic collection and storage of information, such as your IP address, a unique identifier, and/or other data about you and your device. Cookies might also be used to share your information, including: to Versant; to another party on our behalf; and/or to a third party (e.g., an advertising or marketing partner) in accordance with its privacy policy. Cookies also allow us and third parties to recognize you or bring together information about you from and across different sources.
HOW ARE COOKIES USED?
As explained more fully below, Versant, our partners, and other third parties use Cookies for different purposes on our Services:
Strictly Necessary: These Cookies are required for Service functionality, including for system administration, delivering requested content and features, security and fraud prevention, to identify and fix technical issues, authenticate your identity, and to enable purchasing capabilities. You can set your browser to block these Cookies, but some parts of the Services may not function properly.
Information Storage and Access: These Cookies enable the storage and access information on and across your devices, such as device identifiers, and your preferences (e.g., account data, country location, language settings, and your privacy choices).
Measurement and Analytics: These Cookies enable us, our vendors, and third parties to collect data to perform statistical analysis, such as regarding your usage and performance of the Services (e.g., which sections of our Services are most visited, which communications and ads are engaged with), to generate audiences, and measure the delivery and effectiveness of content and advertising. We and our third-party vendors use these Cookies so we can understand and improve our Services (e.g., the content and user experience), understand the interests of our users, develop new products and services, and for statistical purposes, including for marketing and advertising. They are also used to recognize you and provide further insights across platforms and devices for the above purposes.
Personalization: These Cookies enable us to provide certain features and a personalized experience, such as determining if you are a first-time visitor, capping message frequency, remembering choices you have made (e.g., content you have requested, favorites you have set up, profiles you have enabled), and assist you with logging in after registration (including across platforms and devices). These Cookies also allow your device to receive and send information, so you can see and interact with ads and content.
Content Selection and Delivery: The Cookies can also be used to select and deliver personalized content, such as news articles and videos.
Ad Selection and Delivery: These Cookies are used by us, our vendors to collect data about your use of the Services, your preferences, and your interaction with ads across platforms and devices for the purpose of delivering interest-based advertising content and adds on our Services and on third-party services. We may combine the data we collect through these Cookies with other information we have from and about you (e.g., your account data) for these purposes.
Third parties (e.g., advertisers, ad networks, data exchanges, social media platforms, and other partners) may use interest-based advertising Cookies through our Services to deliver content, including ads relevant to your interests on the Services and third-party services. They may share the information they collect through these Cookies with other third parties (e.g., advertisers) according to their privacy policy.
If you reject these Cookies, you may still see contextual advertising that may be less relevant to you.
Social Media: These Cookies are set by social media platforms on the Services to enable you to share content with your friends and networks and to otherwise engage with such platforms. Social media platforms have the ability to track your online activity outside of the Services. This may impact the content and messages you see on other services.
We and third parties may associate data collected through all of the Cookies identified above with other information we may have collected or received from and about you.
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If the browser you use is not listed above, please refer to your browser’s help menu for information on how to manage cookies. Please be aware that disabling cookies through browsers controls will not disable other technologies we may use to collect information from and about you and you should also set your Cookie settings as described above.
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Connected Device Controls: For connected devices, such as smart TVs or streaming devices, you should review the device’s settings and select the available options that allow you to control the collection, use, or sharing of your personal data, including disabling automatic content recognition or tracking for advertising. Typically, to opt out, such devices require you to select options like “limit ad tracking” or to disable options such as “interest-based advertising,” “interactive TV,” or “smart interactivity”. These settings vary by device type.
Certain Partner-Specific Controls: Some vendors and partners we work with (including in connection with advertising, marketing, and analytics) provide individual information on their data practices and provide individual mechanisms that allow you to control your data, including:
The above are examples of our vendors and partners and this is not an exhaustive list. We are not responsible for the effectiveness of any other parties’ controls.
Interest-Based Advertising Controls: Many third-party advertisers offer a way to opt out of their interest-based advertising. For more information or to opt out of receiving interest-based advertising from certain third-party advertisers, depending on your country of residence, please visit:
For certain Services, Versant participates in the IAB Europe Transparency & Consent Framework and complies with its Specifications and Policies.
Consequences of Deactivation of Cookies: If you disable or remove Cookies, some parts of the Services may not function properly. Information may still be collected and used for other purposes, such as research, online services analytics or internal operations, and to remember your opt-out preferences.
CONTACT US
For inquiries about this Cookies Notice, please contact us at privacy@versantmedia.com or Chief Privacy Officer, Versant Legal Department, 900 Sylvan Avenue, Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632, USA, Versant Legal Department Attn: Chief Privacy Officer.
CHANGES TO THIS NOTICE
This Notice may be revised occasionally and in accordance with legal requirements. Please revisit this Cookie Notice regularly to stay informed about our and our analytic and advertising partners’ use of Cookies.</p>