Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming
  3. Guides

How to gameshare on Xbox One

By and

Gamesharing is one of the best features the gaming world has seen over the past decade. The Xbox One was one of the first consoles to fully embrace this feature, and the simple process allows you to give a person you trust access to your library of downloadable games. This feature would carry forward to the next-generation Series X and S consoles as well.

Additionally, you can gain access to the games on your trusted friend’s Xbox account. The Xbox One, Xbox One S, and Xbox One X make gamesharing easy, but this process does come with a few restrictions that you should know beforehand.

Difficulty

Easy

Duration

15 minutes

What You Need

  • Any model Xbox One console

  • Xbox Live Gold subscription

In order to gameshare on Xbox, you and your friend will both need your own Xbox One systems and accounts. But once that's all put together, gamesharing is incredibly easy. Here are a few steps to follow to get the feature working properly.

How to gameshare

Before you start, both you and your gameshare partner will need access to each other’s systems and be willing to exchange account info — including the email associated with your Xbox accounts and the matching passwords.

From here, the following steps will explain what you and your partner should do on your Xbox One. To exchange libraries, you will need to repeat the process twice — once to connect your Xbox One to their account and a second time to connect their Xbox One to your account.

Step 1: Once you’re ready, select the icon at the top left on the home screen, then navigate to the user account menu (again on the left). Select Add new, and then add both accounts to your Xbox One.

how to gameshare on xbox one add guest
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Step 2: From there, you must make your gameshare partner’s Xbox One your “home Xbox.” Go to Settings > Personalize > My home Xbox > Make this my home Xbox.

Related

Step 3: In that menu, register the system as your default device. As the description reads: “When this your home Xbox, people can play games without you signing in.” Convenient and, of course, exactly what we’re looking to do.

how to gameshare on xbox one my home
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Step 4: Lastly, all you have to do is go into your game library by selecting My Games & Apps > See all > Full library > All owned games.. Here, you should see a list of all the games that are accessible to your account. This will now include both your own games and your gameshare partner’s games. Sharing also allows you to split an Xbox Live Gold account.

how to gameshare on an xbox series x my home menu
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Step 5: To exchange libraries, repeat the steps above on your partner’s device, making their console your “home Xbox.”

Things you should know before gamesharing

The process comes with a few risks. Your friend will be able to make purchases through your account on the Xbox Store, so be careful about what information you save on your account. We highly recommend you only set up gamesharing with a trusted friend or family member. That way, you won’t have to worry about them making purchases without your permission.

If you lose your internet connection, you won’t be able to access your digital game library unless you’ve identified your Xbox One as your home Xbox. Other users on your console also won’t have access to your games or Xbox Live Gold subscription if it isn’t your home Xbox.

Any time you switch to a new Xbox One or upgrade to an Xbox Series X, you will have to repeat the whole process over again. Also, keep in mind that you can only change your home Xbox five times annually before Microsoft cuts you off from any more changes. This prevents you from frequently switching accounts with your friends to share their games. To ensure you won’t get locked out of your account due to changing your home Xbox, pick one friend to switch with periodically before changing your settings.

How to gameshare on Xbox Series X

If you’re looking to gameshare on one of Microsoft’s new systems — Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S — the process is very similar to how it works on Xbox One. We’ve written up a detailed gamesharing on the Xbox Series X guide, walking you through each step of the process, as there are a few key differences. We love the gamesharing feature available on newer consoles since it allows users to share games without spending a lot of extra money.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Jesse Lennox
Jesse Lennox
Jesse Lennox loves writing, games, and complaining about not having time to write and play games. He knows the names of more…
How to get a gun in Another Crab’s Treasure
Kril has a gun

Another Crab's Treasure no doubt looks like a kid-friendly game, but hiding beneath its charming and cute exterior is a challenging soulslike experience that can test the mettle of genre veterans. Those who either can't or don't want to engage with such intense difficulty throughout this underwater adventure can make great use of a variety of assists. Among these is a rather shocking, but hilarious option that can completely negate nearly all of the game's challenge while providing some laughs along the way. Here's how to get a gun in Another Crab's Treasure.
How to get a gun
To give yourself a gun in Another Crab's Treasure, head over to the Settings menu. Navigate to Assist Mode at the bottom of the menu, then scroll to the bottom once more to a setting called Give Kril a Gun. Toggle this on, then back out and resume your game to find that Kril now has a massive pistol on his back in place of a shell.

This new gun on your back provides you with more than just a funny visual, though -- it actually allows you to shoot and kill any enemy in a single hit, nearly eliminating all of the challenge from the game. Additionally, if you're after trophies or achievements, the first time you shoot a crab with the gun will also unlock "This Kills the Crab."

Read more
3 great Xbox Game Pass titles you should try this weekend (April 26-28)
The current gen version of Fallout 4.

This has been a pretty busy week for new releases, with the likes of Another Crab’s Treasure, Stellar Blade, Sand Land, and more coming out. Xbox Game Pass, Microsoft’s video game subscription service, has also had quite a busy week. Three games in particular stand out as must-plays this weekend for those who want to delve a bit further into the service rather than spend money on a new game.

One is an excellent single-player Star Wars game from 2023 that you might have missed because of how busy last year was for big releases. Another is a new real-time strategy game that earned buzz on Steam in the lead-up to its release. Finally, there’s a Bethesda Game Studios classic that just received an Xbox Series X update that you can experience free of charge via Game Pass. If you're looking for a new game to start this weekend, but don't feel like buying something new, give any of these a try.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor

Read more
How to unlock fast travel in Another Crab’s Treasure
Kril with a coconut shell

Another Crab's Treasure is a fantastical soulslike set deep under the ocean where danger lurks around every corner. And like other games in the genre, it's often brutally difficult to overcome the various challenges you'll encounter. As such, you may find yourself wanting to backtrack for level grinding, to uncover new secrets, or to buy additional items in the game's main hub. However, you may notice early in the game that you haven't yet unlocked the ability to fast travel between the multitude of Moon Snail Shells (aka "bonfires") you've found. Here's how and when you'll unlock fast travel.
How to unlock fast travel
In the opening hours of the game, you may notice that you can access your skill tree, which will show a skill called Shelleportation. But you may be discouraged to see that you aren't able to apply any points to it yet. That's because the game doesn't open up this feature until you've advanced a few hours into the story.

To unlock fast travel, you'll need to work your way through the first few main areas of the game until you reach a boss called the Polluted Platoon Pathfinder. After beating this baddie, you'll soon find yourself teleporting to the Moon Snail's Domain. Here, you'll learn about the power of Umami, as well as unlock access to your skill tree.

Read more