[bug solved] Parental Controls fails to manage EA games from my kid's account

[kenshiro]

Hello,

following some exchanges with the Steam Support team, I am providing here my investigations, regarding a bug in Steam behavior, when a specific option of the Parental Control is actuated.

Can a developper from the Steam Family team read my feedback here under and give me confirmation that it will be taken into account ?

Illustration/summary of the issue :
https://imgur.com/a/sDXAql3
https://imgur.com/a/iTCWAXJ

See also some additional screenshots:
https://imgur.com/a/GAp9gJp

CONTEXT
I have created a Steam account and an EA account for my son. The Steam account is connected to the EA account in the EA launcher.
Me and my son are in the same Steam Family, and I have actuated the Parental Control on my son's Steam account.
I have limited the games he can access from my library : parameter "Available library content" is set on "Only games I choose".
The game "Plant VS Zombie Battle for Neighborville" is associated to my Steam account and to my son's account.
(the game has been paid twice, one for each Steam account)

ISSUE
When my son is launching "Plant VS Zombie Battle for Neighborville" game from EA launcher (this is a game requirement, not a personal choice), the Steam application is correctly "called" by EA launcher and the game is started to be launched by Steam app (the game appears in green color). but after a few seconds, the game is "unloaded" by Steam (the game no more appears in green color) and nothing happens (no error message neither).


Then, my son cannot play the game in these conditions.

After a few tests, I got the game launch successfull from EA app, after changing the "Available library content" parameter of the Parental Control, on "All games".

If i change back the "Available library content" parameter on "Only games I choose", the game launch is failing again, even if the additional parameter "all games" is actuated in the sharing list .


So it seems like the Steam behavior needs to be improved/fixed, in the case the "Available library content" option is defined on "Only the games I choose".

Because the game is successfully launched if the "Available library content" option is defined on "All games".


Regards,
Frédéric

[Anonymous Helper]

Are you aware that games that require 3rd party accounts or launchers can't be shared using Steam Families (includes almost all EA, Ubisoft, Rockstar games)? Also Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville™ does not support Family Share to begin with.

https://help.steampowered.com/en/faqs/view/054C-3167-DD7F-49D4

As with Steam Family Sharing previously, not all games can be shared due to technical limitations, some Steam games and content may be unavailable for sharing. Games or content that matches the criteria below cannot be shared between accounts.

Games that require an additional third-party key, account, or a subscription in order to play
Free to play games and any purchased DLC for those games
Games or DLC that is restricted in your or the other family member's region
Games that do not support the other family member's operating system
Games that the publisher has marked explicitly as unavailable for sharing
Games marked as private by the original owner
Games that are currently excluded from Family Sharing will continue to be
excluded from sharing in Steam Families. This includes games that require an additional third party account or subscription.

[kenshiro]

Yes I am aware that this game cannot be shared, that's why I bought it specifically for his Steam account.
(I sent the game on his Steam account, as a Gift)

ADDITIONAL CONTEXT
My son was initially playing on my Steam account, so I bought the PvsZ game on my Steam account a few months ago.
I recently decided that it was better for him to get his own Steam account (for Parental Controls concerns) so I created for him a dedicated Steam account, and I bought the PvsZ game again, for his steam account.

So the game is included in both our Steam accounts libraries.


And maybe there is a conflict there, in Steam management, between the games from my library sharing and his own library ?

it seems like :
- when the "Available library content" parameter is set on "All games" --> Steam is launching the PvsZ game from my son's library
- when the "Available library content" parameter is set on "Only games I choose" --> Steam is trying to launch the PvsZ game from my library, with failure due to the fact that this game cannot be shared.


So, from my point of view, there is conflict to be solved in Steam behavior, between the Parental Control library management and the Family library sharing.


See also some additional screenshots:
https://imgur.com/a/GAp9gJp

[kenshiro]

Originally posted by Anonymous Helper:

Are you aware that games that require 3rd party accounts or launchers can't be shared using Steam Families (includes almost all EA, Ubisoft, Rockstar games)? Also Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville™ does not support Family Share to begin with. :lunar2020thinkingtiger:

https://help.steampowered.com/en/faqs/view/054C-3167-DD7F-49D4

As with Steam Family Sharing previously, not all games can be shared due to technical limitations, some Steam games and content may be unavailable for sharing. Games or content that matches the criteria below cannot be shared between accounts.

Games that require an additional third-party key, account, or a subscription in order to play
Free to play games and any purchased DLC for those games
Games or DLC that is restricted in your or the other family member's region
Games that do not support the other family member's operating system
Games that the publisher has marked explicitly as unavailable for sharing
Games marked as private by the original owner
Games that are currently excluded from Family Sharing will continue to be
excluded from sharing in Steam Families. This includes games that require an additional third party account or subscription.

Thank you for your reply.

Please have a look on the additional elements I have provided in my 2nd message here above.

Regards

[kenshiro]

UP

Could a developper of the Steam Family feature give me confirmation that the issue is investigated ?

Why does my son can not use his "Plant VS Zombie - Battle for Neighborville" game (specifically bought for his Steam account), when the "Available library content" setting is actuated in my Parental Control menu of the Family feature ?

It seems like the actuation of this Family feature option automatically excludes the games associated to the kid's account.

[Sir Joel]

I'm in the same boat. The only way they can play the EA games that they own on their own accounts is to disable parental controls for them in family management, which kinda defeats the purpose.

[kenshiro]

Originally posted by Sir Joel:

I'm in the same boat. The only way they can play the EA games that they own on their own accounts is to disable parental controls for them in family management, which kinda defeats the purpose.

Thank you for this additional feedback.

(great summary, compared to my looooong posts here above :-) )

[kenshiro]

UP for this issue to be solved !

[Xenodochium]

Same issue here. They own their own copies on their own accounts, but I have to disable parental controls so the games work.

[Paintballny]

I'm running into the same issue which is very frustrating as I specifically purchased the game on their account. Is there anywhere to submit a formal bug/ticket?

[Hexaven]

same issue exactly here bought game for my little brother as a gift due to it cant be family shared however the game will not launch unless all parental controls are disabled, this fundamentally ruins the entire concept of adding parental controls and frankly id much rather see a return of the old family sharing system that did not suffer from this. The new system is frankly a pile of crap as it stands and the devs need to do something about this ASAP - if they need some help programming hit me up coz sounds like you got a bunch of clowns working there that only know how to use chatgpt to program

[fredr]

I believe we have found and fixed the issue. Please try it and see if it's working for you now.

[jonas.knoell]

At least for me the issue is now solved. Thanks

[kenshiro]

Indeed, it is now possible to successfully launch PvZ from the EA laucher, with a limited authorized games in Parental Controls option.

Thank you !

I have updated the title of the topic to mention that the bug is now solved.

[ahmedfarazch]

Originally posted by fredr:

I believe we have found and fixed the issue. Please try it and see if it's working for you now.

Thank you for looking into this issue, but, it is not working for us. We need this for the Need for Speed Game series as well. As discussed above:

1. The Child Account is the Owner of the Games
2. The Games are in Allowed List for Child Account
3. There is no error code. The game does not start and the button reverts to Play after a while.

4. If Family View/Child Mode is disabled, then the games launch successfully.
5. As suggested by community, if account is set to Family View/Child Mode and the Allowed Games is set to All Games, then, EA Games launch without issue in this mode

[Sir Joel]

Originally posted by ahmedfarazch:

Originally posted by fredr:

I believe we have found and fixed the issue. Please try it and see if it's working for you now.

Thank you for looking into this issue, but, it is not working for us. We need this for the Need for Speed Game series as well. As discussed above:

1. The Child Account is the Owner of the Games
2. The Games are in Allowed List for Child Account
3. There is no error code. The game does not start and the button reverts to Play after a while.

4. If Family View/Child Mode is disabled, then the games launch successfully.
5. As suggested by community, if account is set to Family View/Child Mode and the Allowed Games is set to All Games, then, EA Games launch without issue in this mode

I just tested it with Burnout Paradise, and it appears to be working. I'm reinstalling NFS Heat on my son's account now to test that one as well.

Edit: I can confirm NFS Heat is working as well. Try updating the Steam client on the PC your child is using and try again.