Factorio Forums

my son wants to play factorio with me on lan game. is there a way to play game with same steam account 2 computers

Every player should have their own Factorio licence, and by extension, account.
So either your son has his own steam account and should buy Factorio On Steam too, or he could buy it directly on the website, and play it without Steam being involved (Or buy it on the website, and link it to his Steam account afterwards).

yeah I am aware of all that thank you for your reply, my son is 10 so I just dont want to buy game twice just for his impulsive request.

If you create a second steam account you can do a "family share" or something like that on steam. Aka he can use games from your steam account without buying them. But i am not sure if you can play both online with this tactics, but you can easily try for free.

SinuoS wrote: Thu Apr 11, 2024 7:55 am If you create a second steam account you can do a "family share" or something like that on steam. Aka he can use games from your steam account without buying them. But i am not sure if you can play both online with this tactics, but you can easily try for free.

You can't through Steam: https://help.steampowered.com/en/faqs/v ... multaneous

FuryoftheStars wrote: Thu Apr 11, 2024 1:17 pm

SinuoS wrote: Thu Apr 11, 2024 7:55 am If you create a second steam account you can do a "family share" or something like that on steam. Aka he can use games from your steam account without buying them. But i am not sure if you can play both online with this tactics, but you can easily try for free.

You can't through Steam: https://help.steampowered.com/en/faqs/v ... multaneous

Ah good to know, i swear a couple years back it was different. Maybe i miss-remember.

Yes, this is possible, but it's much easier if you use a non-steam copy of the game for the second player. Fortunately the devs have been kind enough to include a non-steam copy of the game with a steam purchase. This is what you need to do.

1. Register a Factorio.com account in-game with your steam copy of the game (if you haven't already done this).
2. Login on Factorio.com with the account you created
3. Head over the download page to download and install the non-steam version of the full game on the second computer you want to play on.
4. On the second computer's copy of Factorio go to Settings->Other Settings and input a different LAN player name than what you use on your first computer. (If you logged in to enable automatic updates you need to log out before you can change the name here).
5. Host a multiplayer game on the computer with the steam copy and uncheck "Public" under Visibility, and "Verify user identity" on Access. Make sure "LAN" under Visibility is checked.
6. The second computer should now be able to see the game in "Browse LAN games" list and join it.

I think it's possible to accomplish the same using steam as well, but you would at minimum have to use your own steam account on both computers and go to offline mode in steam on at least one of them. You should also disable the steam cloud sync if you try this, otherwise that will cause you problems.

Hornwitser wrote: Sun Apr 14, 2024 3:57 pm ...

If OP wants to pirate the game that is up to him, no one really cares, neither me nor Wube I think. But it is against the terms so it's a bit weird to publically instruct on how to pirate the game on the official forums.

The DRM-less game client and the extra keys (for the singular license) and the demo are all some of the many ways Wube shows that they trust us and their quality product and respect they show us. They believe that we will show similar respect in turn. You could discuss these details in private at least. Wube deserves us publically (and in private as well, but use your own judgement) promoting paying for the game for each user.

Qon wrote: Sun Apr 14, 2024 6:28 pm

Hornwitser wrote: Sun Apr 14, 2024 3:57 pm ...

If OP wants to pirate the game that is up to him, no one really cares, neither me nor Wube I think. But it is against the terms so it's a bit weird to publically instruct on how to pirate the game on the official forums.

We don't really consider playing with a friend or relative in your own home as piracy,
We're sure if the game is fun and engaging enough for them, they will eventually buy their own copy

Klonan wrote: Mon Apr 15, 2024 9:50 am

Qon wrote: Sun Apr 14, 2024 6:28 pm

Hornwitser wrote: Sun Apr 14, 2024 3:57 pm ...

If OP wants to pirate the game that is up to him, no one really cares, neither me nor Wube I think. But it is against the terms so it's a bit weird to publically instruct on how to pirate the game on the official forums.

We don't really consider playing with a friend or relative in your own home as piracy,
We're sure if the game is fun and engaging enough for them, they will eventually buy their own copy

I just want to float a clarification on this stance, because I want to make sure I stay on the approved side of this -

I have an uncle in the hospital for the next month or so. I was thinking about trying to get some coop multiplayer going with him, just to give us a way to hang out for a while and distract him. Is this cool with your stance?

I'm not sure he would be into the idea, or if his old laptop could handle the game, or if the hospital wifi would allow it, or any of the million other questions. Just kind of the preliminary phase here.

ColonelSandersLite wrote: Thu Mar 13, 2025 2:04 pm

Klonan wrote: Mon Apr 15, 2024 9:50 amWe don't really consider playing with a friend or relative in your own home as piracy,
We're sure if the game is fun and engaging enough for them, they will eventually buy their own copy

I just want to float a clarification on this stance, because I want to make sure I stay on the approved side of this -

I have an uncle in the hospital for the next month or so. I was thinking about trying to get some coop multiplayer going with him, just to give us a way to hang out for a while and distract him. Is this cool with your stance?

I'm not sure he would be into the idea, or if his old laptop could handle the game, or if the hospital wifi would allow it, or any of the million other questions. Just kind of the preliminary phase here.

I am not a Lawyer; just a regular Factorio User.

There is a Free Demo available for Players who want to try before they buy. However, some content and features have been cut from this Build and it lags behind the Stable version. So I do understand the desire to “try before you buy” the full Version. It is fine to Download the Game directly from Factorio.com, and use the Exe Installer or ZIP Package on your local network “offline”, such as:

• On a Relative’s computer to let them “try the Full Game, not just the Demo”
• Run a second copy of the game on another PC without Steam preventing multiple sessions
• One-time LAN party in your garage for a birthday party.

It is NOT OKAY to share these Installer across the internet with other people - that crosses the line into “Distribution”, aka piracy.

Using the game Offline means that you won’t be able to connect to the server to Login, so no mods or “Online Multiplayer”; just local LAN games. This provides a small incentive to acquire another License for each Player

I don’t think that Wube has any interest in pursuing individuals who are performing “word of mouth advertising” for the game - so long as it drives sales. The issue would be with Fake Resellers or outright BitTorrent distribution - so don’t do that.

Good Luck!

ColonelSandersLite wrote: Thu Mar 13, 2025 2:04 pm Is this cool with your stance?

Its cool with us, you're there in person together, especially if the game can bring some comfort in a difficult time

Klonan wrote: Thu Mar 13, 2025 7:11 pm

ColonelSandersLite wrote: Thu Mar 13, 2025 2:04 pm Is this cool with your stance?

Its cool with us, you're there in person together, especially if the game can bring some comfort in a difficult time

Cool bud. I thought it would be in line with your general views, but I wanted to be sure.