Steam gaming on Chromebook could finally be happening — yes, really!

Steam gaming on Chromebook could finally exist happening — yes, really!

a photo of the Asus Chromebook Flip C434

(Image credit: Tom'due south Guide)

I love a Chromebook. Mostly they're superbly cheap and cheerful laptops that accept everything y'all need to become a lot of everyday piece of work done, and rarely kick up a fuss with bugs, flaws, or crashes.. Merely unless y'all're into deject streaming or playing elementary Android games, Chromebooks suck for gaming.

But that could modify as according to Android Police, Chrome Bone could back up Valve's Steam gaming platform. Aye, Steam gaming on a Chromebook really could be a thing.

We've already heard that the Google Chrome squad was working to bring Steam to Chrome Bone. Now it would appear that information technology'southward fabricated some progress, possibly with the help of Valve.

That's because Android Law came across system flags for use in the upcoming Chrome Bone 98.0.4736.0 detailing Borealis — the reported codename for integrating steam into Chromebooks. While this version of Chrome Os is expected to exist a 'Canary' beta for testing rather than a full release, information technology's looking likely that Chromebooks will be able to run Steam in the virtually hereafter.

But "what's the point?" you may well and rightly ask. After all, Chromebooks aren't equipped to exist gaming laptops. They're generally machines that rely on a lightweight operating organisation and net connectivity to go stuff done; they don't comprise powerful processors, except in rare exceptions like the Google Pixelbook Get, which tin can exist configured with an Intel Core i7 laptop CPU.

However, I call back there's a reason to be interested here. Cheers to advancements in onboard graphics, laptop chips like the Intel Tiger Lake processors have integrated GPUs that are powerful enough to run games, albeit at lowered settings and with significant limitations on what games will run.

The aforementioned could be truthful of Chromebooks that accept Core i5 fries and 8GB of RAM, like the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook, our pick for 1 of the all-time Chromebooks. I've managed to go Steam games running on similarly specced Windows laptops, provided they're not graphically-enervating titles.

Then while Chromebooks won't suddenly become gaming laptops overnight, Steam support on Chrome Os could make them into solid native platforms for playing old yet classic games, or a whole suite of indie games that ofttimes don't crave much in the way of graphics grunt or processor power.

Equally, if y'all take a wait at the upcoming Valve Steam Deck, information technology aims to evangelize Steam-based gaming in handheld form, thanks to Valve'due south work with graphics and processor maker AMD. So I see no reason why Google and other Chromebook makers couldn't take some of this tech and add together it into Chrome OS machines. Combined with Steam back up, you could be looking at a futurity where Chromebooks actually provide decent gaming experiences.

I'd quite similar the idea of taking out a Chromebook on a train journey and giving semi-modern classic games like Half-Life 2, Bioshock, Company of Heroes or Rome: Total War a spin. And the scope for indie gaming could be huge, with stellar titles like Limbo, Bastion, Complect, Gunpoint and more all being adequately easy to run but offering surprisingly deep gameplay mechanics.

Chromebooks already support game streaming via Google Stadia and other cloud-powered services, of course. But in the U.Thou. where net connections tin can exist shoddy — notably in my apartment of belatedly— being able to game natively and abroad from a Wi-Fi connexion is notwithstanding very appealing.

Granted the Steam Deck promises to deliver such gaming opportunities with even more power. But pricing starts at $399 and goes upward to $649, whereas Chromebooks can be had for under $200.

In a globe where gadgets seem to be getting pricier and more elusive, information technology'southward gratifying to become the impression that more than affordable devices aren't being neglected when information technology comes to functionality. And I for ane, tin't await to endeavour a bit of Steam gaming on an former but yet appreciated Chromebook. And, at the very least, Chrome is introducing a new feature to help online shoppers save money.

Roland Moore-Colyer is U.K. Editor at Tom'due south Guide with a focus on news, features and stance articles. He often writes about gaming, phones, laptops and other bits of hardware; he'due south too got an interest in cars. When not at his desk Roland tin exist found wandering effectually London, often with a await of marvel on his confront.