The arrival of Steam to Chrome OS is closer to being a reality

Steam on Chrome OS

Late 2021 we informed of Google's plans to support Steam for your Chrome OS. Google's desktop operating system is a pretty limited one where most of the activity happens in the browser, but it has long supported Linux apps, and that's where it all starts. Last December they didn't say much about how this would all work out, but this week Have contributed more information.

Part of the blame for all this lies with the Steam deck, that device that is sold as a console but, as it is can install different operating systems and because of its power, I don't really know how to refer to it, or to him. Valve has worked to make the largest possible catalog available to the console, and Steam for Linux is now much better. And Google wants to take advantage of that, although the way to achieve it does not sound good at first.

Steam on Chrome OS via virtualization

Steam on Chrome OS will work via virtualization. Google uses a virtual machine based on a modified Arch Linux image called Borealis to run Steam. This way, Chrome OS users will be able to run Steam without having to touch the operating system. In addition, this type of virtualization, such as Waydroid, when sharing the kernel, does not see its performance drop as much as when we use VirtualBox. And if a game works on Linux, then it will work on Chrome OS.

Google also has in mind safety. Using a virtual machine there is an extra layer, and things are simplified. The games do not have access to the files of the operating system, so there is no need to fear that information will be stolen or that the system will be affected in any way, beyond having an extra application installed.

To be honest, I'm not a big fan of Chrome OS. It is not a "complete" operating system, and there are Linux distributions that we can install on practically any computer, but it has its niche. They are usually cheaper, and today you can do a lot with just a browser, so it's an option to consider. And if soon you can play Steam, more.


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  1.   Seba said

    Supposedly already available via Flatpak

  2.   Gregory said

    "At the end of 2022 we reported"? I detect someone playing the Pythoniso :)