Chromebooks have never been known as the de-facto platform for gaming, but recent developments suggest that this is about to change. At the recent premiere of the Google for Games Developer Summit 2022 Keynote, we have had the privilege to take a brief look at Steam Alpha, which appears to be the famous gaming service’s earliest created version for ChromeOS.
Now, this has the potential of changing the whole gaming scene on Chromebooks, and we’re genuinely excited to see what the future holds. The Google spokesperson in the event has said, “There are also many more ways to play video games with Chromebooks. For example, the Steam Alpha just launched, making this long-time PC game store available on select Chromebooks for users to try.”
The speaker ends this brief glimpse of ChromeOS on Steam by adding, “You can check that out on the Chromebook community forum to learn more.” Unfortunately, this is all there is to this prospect for now, but we can keep our hopes up now that there’s finally some official word about full-fledged gaming on ChromeOS.
Gaming on ChromeOS
What does this mean for gaming on ChromeOS?
This widening development means that our beloved operating system will soon be introduced to Steam. Hopefully, the limiting factors that arose in the wake of this great scenario will be stripped from ChromeOS, so enthusiasts and gamers can finally start enjoying Steam on their trusty and reliable Chromebooks.
We’re still in the very early stages of all this, so all that can be done at the moment is staying patient. What this does mean for gaming on ChromeOS, on the other hand, is nothing but fantastic. Chromebooks are known for their affordability and ease of use. Combine that with a terrific gaming platform like Steam, and you might never have to turn to your Windows PCs for gaming purposes ever again.
This is a bit of a stretch, we admit, as we’re quite not there yet, but once Steam on ChromeOS gets out of its prerelease phase, we can hopefully expect specialized optimization to arrive at the forefront of Chromebooks. This will make high-requirement video games run nicely and to a fairly reasonable extent.
Moreover, it’s worth noting that only a handful of Chromebooks will be eligible to try out Steam games for now. With that being said, this is most likely to change as time progresses and the world-renowned platform moves out of its alpha stage. All we have to do is wait out the storm, especially until the situation matures.
Can you play Steam games on your Chromebook right now?
Yes and no, with more stress on the latter. For now, the official Steam launcher on Chromebooks probably won’t be surfacing, and the developers have advised keeping pace with the Chromebook community forum. Speaking of which, we have headed over to this specific web page to see if any update has been posted, and it appears that there is a brief post made by the developing heads reiterating the situation.
Update for Steam on ChromeOS
The tech giant has partnered up with Valve to get Steam on the face of Chromebooks, thereby making the scene official. The domain’s Community Manager has revealed that only a “small set of Chromebooks” will be seeing the release of Steam at the moment for testing purposes and that too in the operating system’s dev channel.
- Quick info: You can change your update channel to one out of three different options on ChromeOS. You can pick Stable, Beta, or Dev. Find out how to get on the Dev update channel in this descriptive guide.
So, to answer the question of whether you’ll be able to try out Steam on your Chromebook in its initial stage, it depends on the list that Google will release soon and the device you have. If you happen to own a device that has its name on this list of Steam-ready Chromebooks, you’re in luck. If not, wait it out or phone a friend that owns a compatible Chromebook.
To add further information here and give you a hint about what can be expected, rumors are circulating that some of the Chromebooks making it on the forthcoming list of Steam-eligible devices have already been leaked, thanks to 9to5Google. They include the ever-brilliant Acer Chromebook Spin 713 (this comes as no surprise), Asus Chromebook CX9, and the Asus Chromebook CX5.
We cannot confirm whether there’s any truth to this news or not, so only time will tell what devices are introduced to Steam Alpha in 2022. Google has been making heavy moves with ChromeOS lately, and there’s just no denying that.
ChromeOS and Steam in retrospect
It bears noticing that Steam is one of the largest and most feature-packed video game platforms worldwide, so experts and professionals eventually found a way to get it on ChromeOS with zero official support. If you’d like to know how you can do that on your device, too, check out this detailed tutorial.
Other than that, rumors have surfaced since 2020 that Project Borealis is in the works for Chromebooks, a codename was given to the Steam Launcher. However, we can ascertain that this far-flung anticipation has managed to see the light of day.
Major takeaway
Although in its alpha phase, Steam has just been officially announced to make landfall on ChromeOS for the first time. The development took place in the Google for Games Developer Summit Keynote 2022 live on YouTube and other platforms. The presenter only concisely mentioned the release of Steam Alpha on Chromebooks and went on with the rest of the significant announcements concerning Google Stadia and the world of Android apps.
Now, Steam will be coming to Chromebooks, but not at present. First off, some devices will be eligible to run Steam Alpha, so a controller number of users can try the project out and see whether it’s headed in the right direction. Google will put out an update on the aforementioned Chromebook community forum, so make sure that you keep it pinned on your browser for more information.
