What you need to know
- ChromeOS Canary 119.0.6008 introduces a new Game Dashboard feature for Chromebooks.
- When enabled, you'll be able to perform different tasks such as take a screenshot or change the screen size.
- The feature is not fully-developed just yet, as there are some features within Game Dashboard that are not active or available.
We know that Google has been making great strides to improve the overall gaming experience on the best Chromebooks. This led to the introduction of dedicated gaming Chromebooks, but now, Google is working on bringing a Pixel-exclusive feature to ChromeOS.
As spotted by @cr_c2vc on X, formerly known as Twitter, the latest Canary build of ChromeOS introduces a Game Dashboard. This may sound familiar to Pixel owners, as the same feature was originally introduced alongside Android 12, offering different controls while you're playing games.
Google is definitely still working out the kinks, but after enabling the flags and firing up your game, you'll see a new Game Dashboard button at the top. Selecting that will show a drop-down menu with options to pin the toolbar, enable/customize controls, take a screenshot, or even change the screen size.
If you've played games on your Pixel Fold or other Pixel devices, you'll likely notice that there are still a few features missing. Notably, there's no FPS counter or option to record your gameplay. We aren't sure if this was done intentionally, but considering that this is only in ChromeOS Canary, it's entirely possible that Google just has yet to implement those options.
Even if you don't play a bunch of games on your Chromebook, this is still rather exciting to see. Particularly, the ability to customize and map controls to your keyboard and mouse is a pretty big deal. Especially considering that many of the best Android games weren't designed to be played this way, and not all Chromebooks can be converted into tablets.
There are big things on the horizon for Chromebooks, and even if we have to wait a while for Game Dashboard, it's just another new and exciting feature to look forward to.
Acer's Chromebook 516 GE is a beast, regardless of whether you plan to use it for gaming or if you just want a big screen for productivity. It's got plenty of power under the hood, and sports a 120Hz display, to go along with the customizable RGB keyboard.
