This eliminates almost all Chromebooks but those in the upper-mid range and high end. At a minimum, your Chromebook needs to have an (11th gen) Intel Core i5 or i7 processor and a minimum of 7 GB of RAM.
In a recently posted code change, Google has introduced an initial list of supported Chromebook models, along with a few extra minimum specs they’ll need to have. If you’re curious as to how well it runs, our Ben Schoon was able to go hands-on with Steam games on his own Chromebook. Update: Since this article was published, Google has officially unveiled the Steam Alpha for Chrome OS, including which Chromebooks are supported (effectively the same list as seen below) and what games you can probably play well. It’s possible this is directly related to Google’s partner companies like Lenovo and HP likely working on Chromebooks with RGB keyboards marketed at gamers. According to a developer comment from January, Google now has firm “timelines” for when Steam on Chrome OS needs to ship.
However, things may finally be in the final stages of preparation. Of course, a year and a half has passed since then with no indication of when Steam would be launching onto Chromebooks. When we first investigated Google’s efforts into playing Steam games on Chrome OS, codenamed Borealis, all signs pointed to things kicking off with Chromebooks built with Intel’s 10th Gen Core processors. 9to5Google has uncovered the first Chromebooks that should support playing Steam games. Once you hit Enter, Chrome OS will begin the process of downloading and installing the Steam Alpha.Having been confirmed by a Googler over two years ago, Chrome OS is now closer than ever to officially supporting gaming through Steam. Here, you’ll need to enter a special command that’s cleverly themed after inserting a “token” into an arcade machine. To enter it, you’ll need to access Chrome OS’s hidden terminal by pressing Ctrl-Alt-T. Luckily, Google has now provided the necessary “token” to start playing. Insert coin!Īs one further layer of complication, Google has also essentially password-protected Steam on Chrome OS, primarily to keep it from being tested prematurely. Next, you’ll need to reboot your Chromebook once again. Borealis may still be blocked for other reasons, including: administrator settings, device hardware capabilities, or other security measures.
(“Borealis” is Google’s internal codename for Steam on Chromebooks.)Īllows Borealis to run on your device. At the top, in the search bar, type in “ borealis-enabled” and set the flag seen below to Enabled. This should open a new window with hundreds of optional and work-in-progress features for Chrome and Chrome OS.
To do this, open a new tab and head to this address: chrome://flags The next step is to toggle the internal flag that enables or disables the Steam Alpha on Chrome OS. Your Chromebook will then update, after which you’ll need to restart. Here, you’ll see a button labeled “ Change channel.” Click it, and on that dialog you’ll be able to choose the “Developer” channel. To switch to the Dev channel, open the Settings app, and on the left-hand side of the page, click “ About Chrome OS.” On the page that opens, click “ Additional details.” This is one of the many reasons we strongly recommend that you back up your files before continuing. The default channel is “Stable,” with “Beta,” “Developer,” and “Canary” each updating more frequently but with less guarantees of your Chromebook being usable.īefore we continue, one thing to note is that should you eventually decide to switch from Dev back to Stable, you’ll need to wipe your device.
To quickly explain, both Chrome and Chrome OS offer multiple update “channels,” which allow you to make the tradeoff of less stability for faster access to new features. Update to Developer channelįor the time being, the Steam Alpha is only available through the “Dev” channel of Chrome OS. Backing up your most important files - either to another device or to Google Drive - is also just good practice, in general.
Speaking from experience, some of the settings you’ll need to change could potentially cause your Chromebook to be unusable, requiring a full reset. The very first thing you should do before getting started with Steam on Chrome OS is back up your Chromebook’s files.