Can 2 persons Buy a Same Game from Steam, & Download a Single Time & Transfer it to another PC.

[GvNIK18]

Hi Guys.
I am New on Steam. And I need help.
I & My Brother want to Buy GTA V (Premium Online Edition & Megalodon Shark Card Bundle) Pack. But we don't want to download the game on each of our systems.
So, can we both Purchase the Game, but only one of us would download the Game, & transfer it another system?
Is it Possible?

[Jaunitta 🌸]

No, all games purchased on Steam are digital and carry a digital licence that is tied to that buyers account. There is only family sharing available but that means you cant play the game you own while sharing it with your brother.
Co op and MP require both parties own the game on their Steam account.

[ReBoot]

Entirely possible. I recommend using Steam's backup functionality as that will take care of all the bookkeeping needed.

[GvNIK18]

Originally posted by ReBoot:

Entirely possible. I recommend using Steam's backup functionality as that will take care of all the bookkeeping needed.

But will it Work?
As only my brother would download the Game & later transfer it to me, with an External Hard Disk.
Would I be able to link that Steam Game with my Steam Account?
As I would too Purchase the Game, just not download it.

[Behind you❓❗シ]

Yes, you can copy Steam game files from another computer to avoid double-download the full game:

- finish the download on one PC.
- close Steam on your computer
- copy the whole game folder to the other PC into the same location (Steam\SteamApps\common...)
- start steam and verify game cache files for this game on the other PC/account:
https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=2037-QEUH-3335


Or use the Steam Backup method:
https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=8794-yphv-2033

[GvNIK18]

Originally posted by Behind you❓❗:

Yes, you can copy Steam game files from another computer to avoid double-download the full game:

- finish the download on one PC.
- close Steam on your computer
- copy the whole game folder to the other PC into the same location (Steam\SteamApps\common...)
- start steam and verify game cache files for this game on the other PC/account:
https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=2037-QEUH-3335


Or use the Steam Backup method:
https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=8794-yphv-2033

Thanks, Brother.
Will try it.

[ReBoot]

Originally posted by GvNIK18:

Originally posted by ReBoot:

Entirely possible. I recommend using Steam's backup functionality as that will take care of all the bookkeeping needed.

But will it Work?

As I was saying

Originally posted by ReBoot:

Entirely possible.

Originally posted by GvNIK18:

Would I be able to link that Steam Game with my Steam Account?
As I would too Purchase the Game, just not download it.

Why do you want to link anything if you're going to buy it anyway?

[Jaunitta 🌸]

If you want to try reboot and GvNIK18 suggestion Steam on your brothers PC may need the appmanifest_number.acf file for that game to show it is installed.
Hope it works for you.

[GvNIK18]

Originally posted by Jaunitta 🌸:

If you want to try reboot and GvNIK18 suggestion Steam on your brothers PC may need the appmanifest_number.acf file for that game to show it is installed.
Hope it works for you.

Helpful Note.
Thanks.

[Midnight Fawn]

I have done this numerous times for my daughter on her pc, here is what i do:

1. Completely download the game on one pc.
2. On the second pc, start the download and choose where you want it to be installed.
3. Stop the download, so the folder structure gets created, in my case "D:\Steam\steamapps\common\Grand Theft Auto V" then exit steam.
4. On first pc, copy the entire contents of everything within the Grand Theft Auto V folder to external drive
5. Copy everything from external drive to Steam\steamapps\common\Grand Theft Auto V on second pc.
6. Once copy has completed, on second pc, start steam, go to your game library, right click on GTA V, properties, local files, and verify the integrity,
7. You can now play GTA V

Enjoy..! :)

[Cathulhu]

Unnecessarily complicated. Skip Step 2, 3, and most likely Step 6.
Copy the game folder and its ACF file from the steamapps folder, move it to the target computer and then start Steam. Thanks due to the ACF file it will automatically detect the game files.
If the game uses CEG (Custom Executable Generation) you may need to verify the game once and download a very small bit, around a single digit megabyte size.
After that, everything should work fine.

Or, as has been said, use the backup feature.

[GvNIK18]

Originally posted by Midnight Fawn:

I have done this numerous times for my daughter on her pc, here is what i do:

1. Completely download the game on one pc.
2. On the second pc, start the download and choose where you want it to be installed.
3. Stop the download, so the folder structure gets created, in my case "D:\Steam\steamapps\common\Grand Theft Auto V" then exit steam.
4. On first pc, copy the entire contents of everything within the Grand Theft Auto V folder to external drive
5. Copy everything from external drive to Steam\steamapps\common\Grand Theft Auto V on second pc.
6. Once copy has completed, on second pc, start steam, go to your game library, right click on GTA V, properties, local files, and verify the integrity,
7. You can now play GTA V

Enjoy..! :)

Thanks.👍
Will definitely try it, & let you know.

[GvNIK18]

Originally posted by Cathulhu:

Unnecessarily complicated. Skip Step 2, 3, and most likely Step 6.
Copy the game folder and its ACF file from the steamapps folder, move it to the target computer and then start Steam. Thanks due to the ACF file it will automatically detect the game files.
If the game uses CEG (Custom Executable Generation) you may need to verify the game once and download a very small bit, around a single digit megabyte size.
After that, everything should work fine.

Or, as has been said, use the backup feature.

Ok.
Thanks. 👍

[ReBoot]

Id like to point out that Steams own backup function does the job as well and is easier to use.

[Midnight Fawn]

Originally posted by Cathulhu:

Unnecessarily complicated. Skip Step 2, 3, and most likely Step 6.
Copy the game folder and its ACF file from the steamapps folder, move it to the target computer and then start Steam. Thanks due to the ACF file it will automatically detect the game files.
If the game uses CEG (Custom Executable Generation) you may need to verify the game once and download a very small bit, around a single digit megabyte size.
After that, everything should work fine.

Or, as has been said, use the backup feature.

People have their own way of doing things, I'm just pointing out how i do it, and works 100% of the time, maybe it has a few steps too many, but hey ho, what works, works..

[GvNIK18]

Originally posted by GvNIK18:

Originally posted by Midnight Fawn:

I have done this numerous times for my daughter on her pc, here is what i do:

1. Completely download the game on one pc.
2. On the second pc, start the download and choose where you want it to be installed.
3. Stop the download, so the folder structure gets created, in my case "D:\Steam\steamapps\common\Grand Theft Auto V" then exit steam.
4. On first pc, copy the entire contents of everything within the Grand Theft Auto V folder to external drive
5. Copy everything from external drive to Steam\steamapps\common\Grand Theft Auto V on second pc.
6. Once copy has completed, on second pc, start steam, go to your game library, right click on GTA V, properties, local files, and verify the integrity,
7. You can now play GTA V

Enjoy..! :)

Thanks.👍
Will definitely try it, & let you know.

Brother I tried this method many times. But it seems like it didn't work for me.
But the Steam Backup Method did.
The method you mentioned is absolutely right. But didn't work for me. Again thanks for you Advice. 👍