Steam is coming to Chromebooks – these will be the first to gain support
While the Steam Deck handheld is almost ready to make its public debut, Valve’s PC gaming ecosystem could soon land on another platform – Google Chromebook notebooks.
The long-awaited launch of a Steam app for Chrome OS devices – which has been more than two years in the making – appears to be near on the horizon.
9to5Google has been snooping within code again and appears to have found the first few Chromebooks that will support the platform at some point in the near future.
The seven models identified by their codenames include three from Acer, two from ASUS and one apiece from HP and Lenovo. The latter is an unreleased and unannounced model.
Here’s the list published in this weekend’s report.
Volta – Acer Chromebook 514 (CB514-1H)
9to5Google
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
As you may have noticed, these are among the higher-end Chromebooks on the market today. The findings within the code reveal why, as the minimum specs are nothing to be sniffed at.
They will need an 11th generation Intel Core i5 or i7 processor, as well as a minimum of 7GB of RAM, ruling out most Chromebooks instantly. Interestingly, the site also spotted references to Nvidia employees submitting code for the project, suggesting the chipmaker will be involved with the rollout.
Google is stepping up its efforts to bring Steam to Chrome OS at a time its own goals within the gaming sector appear to be shifting. The Stadia platform is being refocused around licensing the back-end tech to other parties in the sector, according to a report from Business Insider earlier this month.
The sources said Google is broadening the scope the platform to include potential partnerships with developers like Capcom, Bungie and Peloton, to power streaming services of their own.