Two years ago in 2020, Google and Valve made a small but significant decision that would bring Chrome OS to the next level. With the introduction of Intel’s 10th generation Core processors, Google says that they are working on bringing Steam on the platform. If you have not known what Steam is yet, they are the largest game library in the known world. When we say game library, they are also an online game store that brought about the revolution of how we play and buy games today. Instead of buying physical copies, Steam brought about the age of digital copies of games; meaning you do not need CDs or DVDs to run your games anymore. That is why plenty of new notebooks and even pre-built PCs does not come with a disk tray anymore.
The announcement was made two years ago though, and we have not seen a single hint of Steam coming to Chrome OS since then. Until 9to5 Google uncovered something, that is. Apparently, things have already been swinging for quite some time now in the works of bringing Steam to Chrome OS and the latest development update came in January 2022. A developer commented on the processes they are working on and a sort of expected timeline for the project.
According to 9to5 Google the changelog that they were going through has introduced a list of supposedly supported Chromebooks and some minimum requirements. Of course, the Chromebooks listed are not named outrightly. From the codenames they have, it can be determined which Chromebooks are supposed to be getting Steam support. Most of them for now comes from Acer and ASUS.
- 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
The minimum requirement listed on the changelog also mentions that the Chromebook needs to have at least an 11th Generation Intel Core i5 processor and more than 7GB of RAM. So far, the specs reserved for Steam on Chromebooks are higher-end Chromebooks. But this is also a form of good news for Chrome OS fans.
With the introduction of Steam on top of Chrome OS also means that there will be a new breed of gamers that plays games on Chrome OS. NVIDIA is already working closely with Google and MediaTek to be more present in the development of and for Chrome OS. They are also working on a discrete GPU for Chrome OS, albeit for very specific use cases, for some time now. At the same time, the list of supported hardware is still expanding. There are already evidence showing that even AMD’s newer chips might be on the support list soon. A few of Google’s Chrome OS partners have also revealed that they are working on RGB versions of their Chromebooks. Would we see Steam pre-installed or supported by then? We do not know, only time will tell. But we are looking forward.
Source: 9to5 Google