Too early to announce Today, Google officially announced that Steam was ready to be tested on Chromebooks last week. An alpha version of Steam for Chrome OS is currently available at Chrome OS 14583.0.0 Dev channel as announced via a Post office In the Chrome developer community on Google.
However, not all Chromebooks can run Steam. Google said that only the following devices can try the Alpha:
- Acer Chromebook 514 (CB514-1W)
- Acer Chromebook 515 (CB515-1W)
- Acer Chromebook Spin 713 (CP713-3W)
- Asus Chromebook Flip CX5 (CX5500)
- Asus Chromebook CX9 (CX9400)
- HP Pro c640 G2 Chromebook
- Lenovo 5i-14 Chromebook
“Because many games require high performance, so far we’ve focused our efforts on a group of devices that can run more games well,” Google said.
Chromebooks must also meet certain requirements to run Steam, including an 11th-generation Intel Core i5 CPU, Intel Iris Xe graphics, and 8GB of RAM. Google explained that using a device supported by a lower configuration – eg b. One with an i3 CPU or 4 GB of RAM – not enough. In fact, you may want to have higher specs to play some games, such as: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition and the The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Two games that Google claims work well with Alpha.
These requirements limit Steam on Chrome OS to the higher-priced Chromebook category. Currently, you can find HP’s Chromebook G2 for $849 The Acer Chromebook 514 for $780 Or his Chromebook 515 $772.
It’s not clear if the large number of Chromebooks that come with chips like Intel Pentiums and Arm-based offerings will be able to join the party when the feature is ready.
In addition to the above titles, Google has named 46 other games for PC that run on Chrome OS, including Cuphead Divinity: Original Sin 2, Fallout 4, Hades, Half-Life 2, Left 4 Dead 2, Portal 2, Sid Meier’s Civilization V, Stardew Valley, Tekken 7.
Aside from the Alpha, Google has also started experimenting with variable refresh rate support in Chrome OS, which is expected to combat screen tearing in supported displays. About Chromebooks I mentioned Friday.
Prepare for mistakes
Google said it doesn’t recommend trying Steam on Chrome OS on “the Chromebook you rely on for work, school, or other daily activities.”
Google said it expects “crashes and slowdowns” and bugs. Since this is alpha, “everything can break,” Google said, referring to the developer channel’s “inherent instability” and the fact that Steam is still a work in progress on Chrome OS.
Expected errors include “performance and scaling issues” at resolutions higher than 1080p.
“It’s early days, but we hope the improvement from collecting user feedback will help us create a more accurate experience at launch in the future,” said John Malletis, Vice President of Chrome OS, explaining.
List of images from Getty / SOPA Images
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