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For years, Chromebooks have been a popular choice for users who value security, simplicity, and affordability. While they’ve never been known as gaming machines, there was growing hope that this could change with the arrival of Steam support. Unfortunately, it now looks like that dream is ending before it ever left beta.

The Promise of Steam on Chrome OS

In 2022, Steam support for Chrome OS was started as an early alpha release. It needed a comparatively powerful Chromebook, and its setup process was complex; it was not like simply downloading a standard app. However, after you install it, it changes your experiences to premium and versatile. It makes these budget-friendly devices feel premium.

The feature remained in beta for years, with many hoping it would eventually roll out as a stable, fully supported release. For gaming enthusiasts using Chrome OS, it offered access to Steam’s massive library — a game changer in a space dominated by cloud gaming and mobile titles.

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The Sudden Shutdown

That vision is now fading. This week, 9to5Google spotted that Steam on Chrome OS is being phased out. Users trying to install the beta are greeted with a notice that the service will end at the close of the year. And this isn’t the “beta is over because it’s going stable” scenario many hoped for. Instead, Valve and Google are pulling the plug entirely.

In 2026, Steam will stop working, and Chromebook owners will no longer be able to run Steam games locally on their machines. This is the result of some cutbacks set by Valve, the hardware maker for Steam. So they will be ending the Steam support for older macOS versions, hinting at a big shift in their priorities about platforms.

Why It Matters

For users who were looking forward to upgrading their gaming capability in their Chromebook, it's a real blow, as it was a way to bridge the gap between affordability and gaming capability. As cloud games still struggle to match independence from internet speed and cloud latency, Chromebooks’ local game installation was doing better here.

This signifies that Chrome OS might stay a secondary option for gamers in the future. However, without the native Steam support, Chrome OS gaming will still heavily rely on the Android app, emulators, and cloud services as well.

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What Are the Alternatives?

Although Chromebook users are losing support for Steam, there are some alternatives that Chromebook users can try to keep their gaming experience alive.

  • Android Games: Apps from the Google Play Store are natively supported on Chrome OS, which gives you access to the huge Android games library.
  • Emulators: Installing the emulators with the correct setup, you can easily run some retro console games on your Chromebook.
  • Cloud Gaming Services: There are some cloud gaming platforms, such as Amazon Luna, NVIDIA GeForce Now, and Xbox Cloud Gaming, that allow you to stream modern games without requiring high-end hardware and only need a strong internet connection.

These were some alternatives; however, they can’t replace what Steam used to offer. But they do offer games that can be accessed for those who are willing to adapt.

What It Means?

Chromebooks became more versatile with Steam’s arrival, and it was a bold step. However, it marks the end of the short but promising chapter. So if you have a Chromebook and you were using Steam on it, you can enjoy playing Steam games till the end of 2025, as the support will end completely in 2026. After that Chrome OS gamers will have to switch to an alternative.