Steam Is Coming to Chromebooks, according to Chrome OS’s Director of Product Management

[Tsing]

Chromebooks aren't the first products that come to mind when it comes to gaming laptops, but that could be changing. During a discussion with Kan Liu (Chrome OS's Director of Product Management) at CES, Android Police was told that Google was working on bringing Steam to Chromebooks. That's interesting news for a product typically reserved for web browsing and office apps.

Steam's Chrome OS client will presumably be based on the Linux variant, which originally debuted in 2013. While Liu wouldn't confirm whether or not Valve was directly involved, the company has plenty of reasons to cooperate. Steam being Chrome OS's first major gaming platform would be a pretty big deal, for instance.

But what about the performance problem? Chromebooks are pretty weak machines, especially in the graphics department, but Liu confirmed that more powerful models were coming. He gave the impression that Chromebooks could be getting discrete graphics from AMD, NVIDIA, or Qualcomm, but nothing is confirmed thus far (the former has new models planned, so the inclusion of Radeon graphics seems perfectly plausible).

Steam's Linux client can currently be installed on Chrome OS via Crostini (a container that allows most Linux apps to be installed on Chrome OS), but official support from Google should improve things dramatically. There's still plenty of unknowns, however, such as the potential need for game developers to get involved for compatibility.

 

[Brian_B]

I think it's a good fit, especially considering Steam In-Home Streaming.

 

[Grimlakin]

I see Google linking your Steam library to Stadia. Then for a modest monthly fee you could play your Steam library (of supported game) of licenses via the Google Stadia service on your Chromebook. But you would need the Steam client installed and attached to your account in addition to paying a monthly fee to access your games via Stadia.

Maybe I'm wrong.... but for a lot of people this might make a heck of a lot of sense over buying a gaming laptop for hundreds if not north of a thousand dollars more.

 

[Brian_B]

I see Google linking your Steam library to Stadia. Then for a modest monthly fee you could play your Steam library (of supported game) of licenses via the Google Stadia service on your Chromebook. But you would need the Steam client installed and attached to your account in addition to paying a monthly fee to access your games via Stadia.

Maybe I'm wrong.... but for a lot of people this might make a heck of a lot of sense over buying a gaming laptop for hundreds if not north of a thousand dollars more.

Maybe, but that's a horse of an entirely different color. I agree that could work out as well, but a Stadia->Steam cross license deal would be a massively huge deal (for Google at least) and would make Steam running on Chromebooks a small footnote. I don't know that Gabe would sign off on something like that (I'm surprised that Valve hasn't put a horse in the Streaming race, apart from the In-Home Streaming option), but who knows...

Stadia... 6 letters, Google + Valve, 2. 6 / 2 = 3. Half Life 3 confirmed.

 

[Grimlakin]

Maybe, but that's a horse of an entirely different color. I agree that could work out as well, but a Stadia->Steam cross license deal would be a massively huge deal (for Google at least) and would make Steam running on Chromebooks a small footnote. I don't know that Gabe would sign off on something like that (I'm surprised that Valve hasn't put a horse in the Streaming race, apart from the In-Home Streaming option), but who knows...

Stadia... 6 letters, Google + Valve, 2. 6 / 2 = 3. Half Life 3 confirmed.

Wait did you say Half Life 3 is going to be a Stadia only exclusive title when purchased through Steam?! OH MY GOD THE END TIMES ARE HERE!!!