Game Share on Xbox: Step-by-Step Guide & Game Sharing Limitations

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Share your Xbox games with your friends with this easy guide

Written by Hannah Dillon

Last Updated: August 23, 2024 Fact Checked

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How to Game Share on Xbox

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Game Sharing Limitations

Have you seen TikToks about game sharing on Xbox but you weren't sure how to do it? If so, this is the article for you! In this article we'll go over step-by-step how to game share on an Xbox One and Series X|S, as well as the limitations you should keep in mind before game sharing. Keep reading to learn more.

Game Sharing on Xbox One & Series X|S

To game share on your Xbox One or Series X|S, you'll first need to add your friend's account to your Xbox. Switch to the new account and open your Xbox settings. Go to Personalization > My home Xbox and set your Xbox as the account's home Xbox. You can now install your friend's games on your Xbox and play them.

Section 1 of 2:

How to Game Share on Xbox

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To share games between two consoles, you'll need to both get your friend's Xbox login information as well as give your own login information to your friend.^{[1]
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If your Xbox is off, turn it on and make sure you're signed into your account before continuing.

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On Xbox One this is the Sign In menu, and on Xbox Series X|S this is the Profile & system menu.
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Add your friend's account. How you do this depends on which console you have:
- Xbox One: Select Add new.
- Xbox Series X|S: Select Add or switch > Add new.
You can do this by pressing the Xbox button and going back to the profile menu (all the way to the left on Xbox One or all the way to the right on Xbox Series X|S) and selecting your friend's account.
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Open your settings and go to Personalization > My home Xbox. The Personalization option is in the General tab, which is the default tab when you open your Xbox settings.
- On Xbox One, you will see Personalize instead of Personalization.
This will allow you to play your friend's Xbox games on your console. If your friend has a Game Pass subscription, you'll be able to use their Game Pass as well.
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Install the games you want to play. Before you can play your friend's games, you'll need to install them on your console. You can do this by going to the Microsoft Store and searching for a game or checking the Ready to Install section.
- To share your game on your friend's console, repeat steps 2 through 7 above on your friend's Xbox with your account.

Section 2 of 2:

Game Sharing Limitations

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If you use up all of your switches, the home Xbox menu will show the date when you can switch your home Xbox next. Microsoft says that their customer support cannot give any additional switches, so make sure you're using them wisely.
If your friend is signed in, you'll only be able to play the games that you own (and vice versa).
The only games that can be shared are digital games or games from a Game Pass subscription. Physical games can't be shared this way. You also cannot share game-specific content, in-game currency, or some pre-order/special edition bonuses.
If you want to game share with a different friend, you'll need to remove the friend you're currently game sharing with and then repeat the steps above for the new friend.
You should only game share with close friends that you trust, and to be extra safe, don't save any payment information on your Xbox (unless it's necessary for a subscription).