What you need to know
- Google has quietly revealed the first batch of Chromebooks that will support Steam for Chrome OS.
- Chromebook models that are supported must have at least 7GB of RAM and be powered by an 11th Gen Intel Core i5 or i7 chipset.
- The initial list consists mostly of Chromebooks manufactured by Acer and ASUS.
Google has been hard at work adding Steam support to the best Chromebooks since its director of product management for Chrome OS revealed the plan in early 2020. It's been quite a long haul since then, but the search giant's focus on gaming for Chrome OS might finally take off soon.
As spotted by 9to5Google, the company has revealed the initial list of Chromebooks that will support Steam for Chrome OS at launch. A code change on Chromium Gerrit lists the following Chromebook models.
- Volta – Acer Chromebook 514 (CB514-1H)
- Volet – Acer Chromebook 515
- Voxel – Acer Chromebook Spin 713 (CP713-3W)
- Delbin – ASUS Chromebook Flip CX5 (CX5500)
- Drobit – ASUS Chromebook CX9 (CX9400)
- Elemi – HP Pro c640 G2 Chromebook
- Lindar – Unknown/unreleased Chromebook from Lenovo
Notably, the list consists of models from Acer and ASUS, along with another entry from HP and a Lenovo model that's yet to be released.
There's a catch, though, as not all configurations of the Chromebook models on the list will be able to run Steam games. The support will require machines that have at least 7GB of RAM. Furthermore, Chromebooks must be powered by an 11th Gen Intel Core i5 or i7 processor, leaving low-cost models out in the cold.
Nonetheless, Google might also bring Steam support to Chromebooks powered by Intel's 10th Gen processors at a later time.
Nvidia also appears to have a key role in the Steam development. According to 9to5, some Nvidia employees have submitted multiple code changes for the project. It's not surprising given its current partnership with MediaTek to build a new line of notebooks featuring RTX graphics.
There's still no word on when Steam for Chrome OS will launch, but the release of the list of supported models indicates that it's just around the corner.
