Google is reportedly ending its Steam for Chromebooks program, with the last day of support set for January 1, 2026. This comes as a new message appears when trying to install the app, and it seems to be the latest nail in the coffin for the idea of Chromebooks as gaming laptops. Google’s push to make gaming a major feature of ChromeOS began with the surprising 2022 announcement that Steam would be coming to the platform.
Google released an alpha version in March of 2022 and a beta in November of that same year, but it seems the program never got a stable release and will be ending for good next year. The end of the program was discovered by 9to5Google, who found a new notice when attempting to install the Steam launcher on a new laptop.
The message states that the “Steam for Chromebook Beta program will conclude on January 1st, 2026” and that after this date, “games installed as part of the Beta will no longer be available to play on your device”. The message goes on to say that the information gathered from the beta will “inform the future of Chromebook gaming,” but it’s hard not to feel like this is a huge step back for the platform.
Google Won’t Have Steam on Chromebooks Soon
The initial idea of bringing Steam to Chromebooks was to give users a third way to play games on the platform, alongside Android apps and cloud streaming. The effort was a big deal at the time, with companies like ASUS and Acer even announcing and releasing dedicated “gaming Chromebooks”. Unfortunately, the idea never really took off, and the program never received any major updates after its beta release. The lack of updates and the fact that it never left beta were pretty good indicators of where the project stood, to be fair.
One of the biggest issues with the program was the fact that most Chromebooks just don’t have the hardware to run modern games. They’re typically built with underpowered CPUs and integrated graphics, which just doesn’t cut it for most modern titles. While the program did use Valve’s Proton compatibility software, which helps Windows games run on Linux-based systems like the Steam Deck, it couldn’t make up for the lack of processing power.
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With the end of the Steam for Chromebooks program, users who want to play games on their Chromebooks will have to rely on other methods. The best options for running modern console and PC games will be to use cloud streaming services like NVIDIA GeForce Now or Xbox Cloud Gaming. Chromebooks can also run Android apps from the Google Play Store, so there’s always that option for local games.
While Google’s message alludes to a future for Chromebook gaming, it’s unclear what that will look like. The company has been working on migrating the technical underpinnings of ChromeOS to Android, which means that Android apps will always be an option. But for anyone who was hoping to play their Steam library on a Chromebook, this news is a huge disappointment.
Google May Have More Coming, but This Is Still a Blow
It’s a shame that a program with so much potential is being canceled before it even had a chance to get a stable release. The news is a huge blow to the idea of Chromebooks as a viable gaming platform. When Google first announced the program, it felt like a huge step forward for the platform, but now it feels like a big step back.
The fact that the program never left beta and is now being canceled just a few years later is a bad sign for the future of gaming on ChromeOS. It’s especially frustrating for anyone who bought a “gaming Chromebook” with the expectation that they’d be able to play their Steam games on it. Now, those users are left with a device that can’t do what they bought it for, and that’s just a bummer.
Source: 9to5Google
