Google and Valve have yet to confirm the rumours

Jan 17, 2020 16:16 GMT  ·  By

It would appear that Google is working to bring official Steam support to its Linux-based Chrome OS operating system for supported Chromebook devices.

According to a report from the Android Police website, Kan Liu, director of product management for Google's Chrome OS, revealed the fact that Steam support could be enabled on Chrome OS in the near future by taking advantage of the implementation of support for Linux apps that landed in Chrome OS last year.

While this might come as good news for Chromebook owners, the fact of the matter is that Chrome OS devices aren't powerful enough to support many of the games available on Steam. If Steam comes to Chrome OS, most probably Google will only enable it only on its most powerful Chromebooks.

Kan Liu did not said when Steam will be coming to Chrome OS, and neither Google or Valve have confirmed this news. However, it looks like Google will be working directly with Valve to enable official Steam support on Chrome OS, and Google is working to release more powerful Chromebooks this year.

Steam for Linux on Chrome OS

Since Google's Chrome OS is basically a Linux-based operating system, the Steam client would probably run on top of the available Linux implementation, which is currently used to allow Chromebook users to install and run Linux apps. But don't expect all Linux games to work on Chrome OS.

We're very curious to see how this plays out, but our hopes aren't high. Most of today's Chromebooks are made just as a cheap alternative to MacBooks and PC laptops, but it looks like Google wants to change that by bringing some gaming Chromebooks to the already overcrowded laptop market, reportedly powered by AMD.

We'll keep you updated as more information on this becomes available.