If you ever wanted to play your Steam game library on a Chromebook, there’s good news: Google is starting to bring Steam to Chrome OS.
The company casually dropped the announcement on Tuesday during the Google for Games Developer Summit. “The Steam alpha just launched, making this long-time PC game store available on select Chromebooks for users to try,” Greg Hartell, a Google product director for Android, said during the keynote.
According to Hartell, interested users can go to the Chromebook community forum to learn more. However, it seems the company has yet to publish the post about the Steam alpha’s availability. We’ve reached out to Google for more information and will update the story if we hear back.
The slide shown during the Google for Games Developer Summit.
The Steam availability could help Google address a notable shortcoming with Chrome OS. Currently, Chromebooks are best known as low-cost laptops, often sold to schools—not as gaming machines. That said, there are various ways you can play games on them. This can include installing the Linux-based version of Steam over the device through a Linux app, or running the Steam Link app to stream games from another machine.
However, a native Steam app for Chrome OS could make the gaming even more convenient, allowing users to access their existing Steam game libraries on a Chromebook. But the big questions are which Steam games will be supported on Chrome OS and how well they run.
Recommended by Our Editors
In the meantime, evidence has emerged that only high-end Chromebooks will be able to run the native Steam client for Chrome OS. 9to5Google noticed a recent code change that indicates only recent Chromebooks with an 11th Generation Intel Core i5 or i7 processor and a minimum of 7GB of RAM will be supported.
Get Our Best Stories!
Your Daily Dose of Our Top Tech News
Thanks for signing up!
Your subscription has been confirmed. Keep an eye on your inbox!
About Our Expert
Michael Kan
Senior Reporter
Experience
I've been a journalist for over 15 years. I got my start as a schools and cities reporter in Kansas City and joined PCMag in 2017, where I cover satellite internet services, cybersecurity, PC hardware, and more. I'm currently based in San Francisco, but previously spent over five years in China, covering the country's technology sector.
Since 2020, I've covered the launch and explosive growth of SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet service, writing 600+ stories on availability and feature launches, but also the regulatory battles over the expansion of satellite constellations, fights with rival providers like AST SpaceMobile and Amazon, and the effort to expand into satellite-based mobile service. I've combed through FCC filings for the latest news and driven to remote corners of California to test Starlink's cellular service.
I also cover cyber threats, from ransomware gangs to the emergence of AI-based malware. Earlier this year, the FTC forced Avast to pay consumers $16.5 million for secretly harvesting and selling their personal information to third-party clients, as revealed in my joint investigation with Motherboard.
I also cover the PC graphics card market. Pandemic-era shortages led me to camp out in front of a Best Buy to get an RTX 3000. I'm now following how President Trump's tariffs will affect the industry. I'm always eager to learn more, so please jump in the comments with feedback and send me tips.