How to Install and Play Steam Games on a Chromebook in 2024

Chromebooks are great for a lot of things but gaming has not been its strength. Thanks to improvements in Linux gaming, the Chromebook gaming landscape has started to look much better today. With the arrival of Steam on ChromeOS, you can now play desktop games right on your Chromebook. Valve and Google teamed up to bring support for the Proton layer on Chromebooks via Linux. So if you want to play AAA titles, follow these instructions to install and play Steam games on your Chromebook.

Install Steam on a Chromebook (Updated 2024)

Install Steam on a Chromebook (Updated 2024)

Considering you own one of thesupported Chromebooksfor Steam gaming, all you need to do is switch to the Beta channel, install an update, and start installing Steam. Here’s how to do it.

NoteBeta software could be unstable and may cause unexpected crashes. Moving to the Beta channel will not reset your Chromebook. However, if you want to go back to the stable channel, your Chromebook will need powerwashing (aka reset).

  1. To switch to the Beta channel, open Settings -> About Chrome OS -> Additional details.

  2. Next, change the channel to “Beta.”

  3. Go back to the “About Chrome OS” page andcheck for updates. Once the latest Beta version is installed, ChromeOS will prompt you to restart your Chromebook. Go ahead and do it.

  4. Once you are on the latest Beta build, launch Chrome and go to the following URL.

5.EnabletheBorealisflag and click on “Restart” at the bottom right corner.

  1. Open the ChromeOS launcher and search for Steam. You should find the “Steam Installer” app. Click to launch it.

  2. The Steam Beta installer will then launch. Follow the on-screen instructions and log in with your Steam credentials once it’s installed.

Steam Supported Chromebooks

Steam Supported Chromebooks

Steam on ChromeOS is available on all Chromebooks having Ryzen 3 or Intel i3 processors (or later) with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. Here are all the Chromebooks that support installing Steam.

Run Steam Games on Any Chromebook in 2024 (Linux Required)

This method should work on fairly all Chromebooks that have Linux support. With the Crostini Linux container, you can install and play Steam games on your Chromebook similar to any Linux machine. Here’s how to get started.

1.Set up Linuxon your Chromebookandenable GPU acceleration for Linuxin Chromebook for better graphics and smoother gameplay.

  1. Launch the Linux Terminal and execute the following commands.It will update all the Linux packages to their latest versions.

  2. Now,click on this linktodownload the setup file of Steam. Like EXE is for Windows, DEB is for Linux.

  3. Double-click on the setup file and click on “Install.” Steam will then be installed on your Chromebook.

  4. After the installation, search for Steam in the ChromeOS launcher. Now, launch it.

  5. You can alsomanually look for Steam in the Linux folder.

  6. Steam willstart downloading the required dependencies and libraries.

  7. Once done, Steam will launch automatically. All you need do issign in to your Steam accountto access all the games in your library.

  8. You can now download and play games using Steam on Linux, on your Chromebook.

  9. Most of thenon-intensive games likeAmong Us, Stardew Valley, Half-Life2, andPortal 2 should run fineon Native or lower resolution. At this point, it’s a matter of experimenting and trying games out yourself to see if they work.

You may want to use Steam Link if you don’t want to mess with Linux and already have a PC to stream games from, and if your Chromebook has Play Store support. The app is available on the Play Store on your Chromebook. Once connected you can then stream desktop games from your Linux or Windows PC on your Chromebook.

  1. Open the Play Store search for theSteam Link app(Free) and install the app.

  2. Once installed, open it and connect your gaming controller to the Chromebook. If you don’t have one,you can skip itand use the keyboard and mouse instead.

3.Assuming you have already set up Steam on your Windows or Linux PCand are on the same network, the Steam Link app will scan the network and display the names of available PCs. Ensure you have Steam running on your PC, click on your PC’s name in the app, and pair it with your Chromebook.

  1. After that, you will be connected to your PC’s Steam setup. You can nowplay Steam games right on your Chromebook.

Given the current state of gaming on Linux, gaming on Chromebook will only improve from here on. Google has already launchedgaming edition Chromebookssuch as the Acer Chromebook 516 GE, Asus Chromebooks Vibe CX55 Flip, and more. If for any reason Steam doesn’t work, you can usecloud gaming servicessuch as GeForce NOW and Boosteroid. Let us know in the comment section below your experience with gaming on a Chromebook.

Abubakar Mohammed

Abubakar covers Tech on Beebom. Hailing from a Computer Science background, the start of his love for Tech dates back to 2011, when he was gifted a Dell Inspiron 5100. When he’s not covering Tech, you’ll find him binge-watching anime and Tech content on YouTube, hunting heads in competitive FPS games, or exploring Teyvat in Genshin Impact. He has previously worked for leading publications such as Fossbytes, How-To Geek, and Android Police.

Add new comment

Name

Email ID

Δ

01

02

03

04

05