End of Steam for Chromebooks: Google and Valve's Decision
If you've been using Steam to play games on a Chromebook, it's time to prepare for a significant change. Google and Valve have announced they will end support for the Steam for Chromebooks beta on January 1, 2026. Although Steam will still be available on Chromebook devices, users will receive a notice about this support termination.
The message indicates that the Steam for Chromebook Beta program will cease after the specified date. Consequently, games installed during the beta phase won't be playable on these devices anymore. Google and Valve express gratitude to participants, acknowledging the lessons learned from this experiment that will shape the future of gaming on Chromebooks.
Initially launched in early 2022, Steam for Chromebooks started as an alpha version limited to a few newer devices with Intel processors. The later beta release broadened compatibility to include AMD CPUs and GPUs, but there have been few updates from Google and Valve since then. This project was part of a broader initiative to introduce gaming Chromebooks, leading to the release of laptops with advanced hardware and enhancements for GeForce Now and Xbox Cloud Gaming.
Despite employing the Proton compatibility layer to support Windows games on Valve's Linux-based SteamOS, Steam on Chromebooks struggled with game compatibility. This is mainly due to Chromebooks' older, less powerful processors that feature slower integrated graphics, making it challenging to run demanding games.
While Google experimented with Chromebooks featuring Nvidia GeForce GPUs, development on these devices was halted unexpectedly. The Steam project might be ending due to limited usage or the hardware constraints inherent to Chromebooks. Alternatively, Google may be realigning its projects as it plans to merge Android and ChromeOS ecosystems.
Consequently, Chromebook gaming will predominantly focus on cloud solutions, as indicated by Google's strategic direction. Ending the Steam for Chromebooks experiment marks a shift towards optimizing cloud-based gaming services.
