Steam for ChromeOS is almost ready for beta testing

We’re much more rumored, but Google has announced it: Steam is coming to Chromebook. Right now, it’s almost ready for beta testing for ChromeOS. An exciting moment, because it takes a lot to get it working.

ChromeOS

9to5Google spotted a ticket showing that Google wants to release Steam on the ChromeOS beta. The ticket reads, “Allow borealis to run on the beta branch,” and further explains, “When borealis enters the beta development phase, we will allow compatible Chromebooks on the beta channel to install it.” Borealis is the codename for the Steam project in ChromeOS, so when Google developers talk about it, they mean Steam support anyway.

Not much else can be deduced from the ticket, but it certainly means that this feature is being worked on hard. How cool would it be to be able to play Steam games on your Chromebook in an easy way? Going wild in the Steam sale and then doing the coolest indie games and AAA titles: it’s something that many people still really miss on a Chromebook and which can really make it a much more attractive laptop.

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At the moment, Steam is only available on the Dev or Canary channel, which receive weekly or daily updates, but they often come with issues that can seriously hinder the operation of your Chromebook. Hence, the big news is that Steam for ChromeOS is now entering the next phase. Steam has been available in the alpha test since March. Apparently it is now stable enough to move on to beta, one of the last chances for Google before the game platform is officially launched for ChromeOS.

The development fits well with how the hardware is currently developing. Chromebooks were first mainly light, cheap laptops, but now there are also heavier variants and you can easily run a game on them. Soon really, because then it’s finally time for Steam to really be available on it. When exactly, however, is unknown.

Are you dying for it: Steam on ChromeOS? Let us know below why or why not.