How to install Steam on a Chromebook

Steam has announced support for Chromebooks, a next-generation gaming platform. The company has been working on cloud gaming. The Alpha version launched in March on the ChromeOS Dev Channel. Steam on ChromeOS is officially out of Alpha and available in Beta.

If you want to try this on your Chromebook, you need a device with version 108.0.5359.24 or higher to play games via Steam on Chromebooks. Initially, it only supported a limited number of Chromebooks; now, it’s expanding to more. In addition to the performance improvements, Google and Value also lowered the hardware requirements. 

You can now launch Steam on Chromebooks equipped with the AMD00 C-Series and 12th Gen Intel as recommended requirements. Meanwhile, Intel Core i3 and AMD Ryzen 3 are the minimum CPUI requirements. Google recommends having Chromebooks with 16GB of RAM and an Intel i5 or Ryzen 5 for the best performance. It has over 50 games to play and is now on the recommended games list. 

How do I install Steam on ChromeOS? 

Currently, it’s in the ChromeOS Beta Channel, not for development, due to inherent instability. So, you need to switch to ChromeOS Beta to use this feature. 

Change ChromeOS to the Beta Channel 

• Open Settings from the bottom right, and head over to About ChromeOS. 
• Click on the channel, and then choose Change Channel. 
• Select the Beta Channel, and your Chromebook will start downloading the update package and restarting. 
• After finishing Powerwash, you must sign in with your Google account again. 
• That’s it! 

Now, you can set up Steam on ChromeOS Beta. 

• Navigate to chrome://flags. 
• From there, enable the #borealis-enabled 
• Alternatively, you can go to chrome://flags/#enable-borealis and update to launch Steam. 

Steam on ChromeOS improved significantly from the alpha version, including power management. Now in full-screen mode, the power notification is no longer displayed, and overheating has been reduced using VulkanrectX Tittle. More games can now be played in QHD and UHD. Google says it has optimized its graphics libraries, like DirectX 12 and Vulkan 1.3, to improve how shaders are stored. It also emphasizes better scaling. 

The company also improved the user interface and now supports more devices. Google is committed to enhancing the user experience, introducing a few improvements, and improving performance. There are more improvements, including pointer lock by default, improved handling switching between apps and full-screen, improved Windows management support, including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Thai fonts, and mouse cursor fixes. 

Supported Devices for Steam Beta on ChromeOS 

This list includes recently launched Chromebooks from Acer, Asus, and Lenovo. The device also supports a high refresh rate (up to 144 Hz). 

• Acer Chromebook 514 (CB514-1W) 
• Acer Chromebook 515 (CB515-1W) 
• Acer Chromebook 516 GE 
• Acer Chromebook Spin 514 (CP514-3H, CP514-3HH, CP514-3WH) 
• Acer Chromebook Spin 713 (CP713-3W) 
• Acer Chromebook Spin 714 (CP714-1WN) 
• Acer Chromebook Vero 514 
• ASUS Chromebook CX9 (CX9400) 
• ASUS Chromebook Flip CX5 (CX5500) 
• ASUS Chromebook Flip CX5 (CX5601) 
• ASUS Chromebook Vibe CX55 Flip 
• Framework Laptop Chromebook Edition 
• HP Elite C640 14-inch G3 Chromebook 
• HP Elite C645 G2 Chromebook 
• HP Elite Dragonfly Chromebook 
• HP Pro c640 G2 Chromebook 
• IdeaPad Gaming Chromebook 16 
• Lenovo 5i-14 Chromebook 
• Lenovo Flex 5i Chromebook 14 
• Lenovo ThinkPad C14 

In August, Steam released the Steam mobile app for Android and iOS devices. Here are 50 new titles you can now play on Steam on ChromeOS. 

• A Short Hike  
• DOOM  
• Left 4 Dead 2  
• Stardew Valley  
• Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition  
• Dorfromantik  
• Loop Hero  
• Stellaris  
• Age of Mythology: Extended Edition  
• Enter the Gungeon  
• Mini Metro  
• Stormworks: Build and Rescue  
• ASTRONEER  
• Escape Simulator  
• Mirror’s Edge  
• Stumble Guys  
• Baba Is You  
• Euro Truck Simulator 2  
• Monster Train  
• Subnautica  
• Besiege  
• Factorio  
• Muck  
• SUPERHOT  
• Bloons TD 6  
• Fallout 4  
• Northgard  
• Tabletop Simulator  
• Bloons TD Battles 2  
• Farm Together  
• OCTOPATH TRAVELER  
• Team Fortress 2  
• CARRION  
• Fishing Planet  
• Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition  
• Terraria  
• Celeste  
• Football Manager 2022  
• Overcooked! 2  
• Tetris® Effect: Connected  
• Core Keeper  
• For The King  
• Oxygen Not Included  
• The Battle of Polytopia  
• Cult of the Lamb  
• Gang Beasts  
• Papers, Please  
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition  
• Cultist Simulator  
• Geometry Dash  
• PAYDAY 2  
• The Jackbox Party Pack 8  
• Cuphead  
• Grim Dawn  
• Portal 2  
• The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt  
• DARK SOULS™: REMASTERED  
• Gunfire Reborn  
• Prey  
• Tomb Raider  
• Darkest Dungeon®  
• Hades  
• Project Zomboid  
• Accurate Battle Simulator  
• Dead Cells  
• Half-Life 2  
• Return of the Obra Dinn  
• TUNIC  
• Deus Ex: Human Revolution – Director’s Cut  
• Hearts of Iron IV  
• RimWorld  
• Two Point Hospital  
• Dicey Dungeons  
• Hollow Knight  
• RISK: Global Domination  
• Untitled Goose Game  
• Disco Elysium  
• Human: Fall Flat  
• Shatter Remastered Deluxe  
• Unturned  
• Dishonored  
• Inscription  
• Shop Titans  
• Vampire Survivors  
• Disney Dreamlight Valley  
• Into the Breach  
• Sid Meier’s Civilization V  
• Wingspan  
• Divinity: Original Sin 2  
• Katamari Damacy REROLL  
• Slay the Spire  
• Wolfenstein: The New Order  
• Dome Keeper  
• Kerbal Space Program  
• Slime Rancher  
• World of Tanks Blitz  
• Don’t Starve Together  
• Killer Queen Black  
• STAR WARS™: The Old Republic™  
• Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel  

The in-game settings should be manually adjusted so that the resolution is reduced, V-Sync is disabled, and the graphics preset is diminished.