Tech Desk 
Aug 08, 2025
The Steam for Chromebook Beta program, launched in 2022, is scheduled to end in early 2026. After this date, games installed during the beta will no longer be playable on Chromebooks.
The message "The Steam for Chromebook Beta program will conclude on January 1st, 2026" will appear to users who try to install Steam on their devices. Games that were installed on your device as part of the beta will no longer be playable after this date. We value your involvement in and input into the beta programme's lessons learnt, which will guide Chromebook gaming going forward."
An important gaming initiative for ChromeOS that offered cloud streaming and Android apps as alternate ways to play games on Chromebooks has come to an end with this decision.
Following its March 2022 Alpha launch, Steam for Chromebooks saw a Beta release in November of the same year.
However, a Core i5 or Ryzen 5 with 16 GB of RAM was recommended, while the beta’s hardware requirements were less demanding, needing only an AMD Ryzen 3 or Intel Core i3 with 8 GB of RAM.
During the beta stage, Google tracked 99 games that were compatible, all running on Steam’s Linux version. Once support ends, these games will be removed from Chromebooks.
A clear sign of the effort's status was the fact that Steam for Chromebook never made the switch to a stable release.
The future of Chromebook gaming seems to be moving towards cloud gaming services and Android apps as the technical underpinnings of ChromeOS migrate to Android.
By removing Steam support for Chromebooks, Google is able to reallocate resources to more promising gaming opportunities on the platform.
Moreover, Google makes reference to how cloud gaming services, like NVIDIA's GeForce NOW, could offer a better experience in the future of Chromebook gaming by smoothly streaming thousands of AAA PC games from the cloud on even the most reasonably priced Chromebooks.
Chromebook gaming is about to change dramatically in the upcoming years due to the abundance of Android apps available for local games in the Play Store.
