Some Google Chromebooks aim to become “computers gaming”. This seems to be indicated by Valve’s proposal, which after many rumors has finally launched the first version of its Steam client for Chrome OSthe operating system of these laptops.
During the Games Developer Summit of 2022 carried out by Google, the company officially announced the alpha version of Steam for Chrome OS. According to the presenter, said program has just been launched for said operating system; although at the moment it seems that it is not available for download from the internet.
According to a tweet by Ron Amadeo, journalist specialized in Google and mobiles on the web Ars Technica; Those from Mountain View have yet to reveal the information pertaining to the installation of Steam on Chrome OS. In addition, in his profile on the social network, he comments that, during the presentation, Google has directed its users to the official company forums to know more about it.
You won’t be able to run it on any Chromebook
During the conference they announced that only a handful of Chromebooks will be able to run Steam correctly. Also, the requirements that have been published are quite high -for a Chromebook-, so much so that almost no computer with Chrome OS will be able to install the Valve client.
A leak in February revealed the hardware you’ll need to have on your Chromebook to run Steam. The report was published by 9to5Googlewho commented that the video game client could only run on a small list of computers. This is mostly made up of Acer and Asus equipment.
- Volta – Acer Chromebook 514 (CB514-1H)
- Volet – Acer Chromebook 515
- Voxel – Acer Chromebook Spin 713 (CP713-3W)
- Delbin – ASUS Chromebook Flip CX5 (CX5500)
- Drobit – ASUS Chromebook CX9 (CX9400)
- Elemi – HP Pro c640 G2 Chromebook
- Lindar – Unknown/unreleased Chromebook from Lenovo
However, it seems that Google is working on the development of new laptops Chromebook for gamers. This was learned thanks to the Chrome OS code, which reveals support for RGB keyboards on laptops; an almost exclusive feature of those computers focused on video games.
One was identified under the code name old and would be manufactured by Quanta, a company that develops Chromebooks for different brands. However, the report mentions that there are indications that the device in question belongs to HP.
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Minimum requirements to run Steam on Chrome OS
Everything seems to indicate that you will need at least an 11th generation Intel i5 processor to run Steam on Chrome OS. Also, you will need 7GB RAM on your laptop. Of course, this isn’t too much of a surprise, as almost all games require high specs to run smoothly. However, it does leave out a large part of the existing Chromebook computers.
Currently these requirements they are for the alpha version of Steam for Chromebooks. However, there are chances that Google I ended up expanding the list of devices compatible with the Valve client.
For now, if you want to install this version of Steam for Chrome OSyou will have to run a Dev or Canary version on your computer of the system. Also, you will have to activate Borealis on your device. The reason for all this is because the program is in its earliest public stage, so the presence of bugs they could tarnish the average user experience.