Google has just announced that it will end its Steam for Chromebook Beta program on January 1, 2026, with devices losing access to installed games on that date. According to 9to5Google, you can still install Steam on your Chromebook through the ChromeOS Launcher, but it will show a warning saying that support for the service is ending soon.
“The Steam for Chromebook Beta program will conclude on January 1st, 2026. After this date, games installed as part of the Beta will no longer be available to play on your device,” the warning says. “We appreciate your participation in and contribution to learnings from the beta program, which will inform the future of Chromebook gaming.”
However, despite being in beta since November 2022, Steam for Chromebook never went into stable release. It seems that the service did not gain enough popularity for it to enter mainstream consciousness, even though it only has minimal specification requirements — an Intel Core i3 or an AMD Ryzen 3 CPU paired with 8GB RAM and 128GB of storage. Although these would allow cheaper Chromebooks to run it, they really weren’t good enough for most gamers who want to play the latest titles.
Still, the imminent demise of Steam for Chromebook isn’t strictly the end for gaming on Chromebooks. Google is working to combine Android and ChromeOS into one seamless operating system, and as mobile chips, like AMD’s Strix Halo line-up, become more powerful and come with integrated GPUs that can rival discrete graphics cards, it will not make sense for the company to ignore the gamer demographic.
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