Google has released a test build of Chrome OS with support for the Steam client. While the version is at the alpha testing stage and is not available to all users. In addition, not all Chrome OS devices can run Steam and install the game from the library.
Steam on Chrome OS can currently only run on devices with 11th Gen Intel Core i5 or i7 processors, Intel Iris Xe Graphics GPUs, and 8GB of RAM. These Chromebooks include:
Acer Chromebook 514/515;
Acer Chromebook Spin 713;
ASUS Chromebook Flip CX5/CX9;
HP Pro c640 G2 Chromebook;
Lenovo 5i-14 Chromebook.
When launching games, the system first of all looks for the Linux build of the project, but if there is no such version or it cannot be launched, the system installs the Windows build and launches it using the Proton layer. The layer itself is based on Wine, DXVK and vkd3d.
The games are reported to run in a separate virtual machine with a Linux environment, and everything is implemented using the Linux subsystem for Chromebooks, introduced in 2018. Linux apps run on Chrome OS in the same way as Android apps. For graphic applications, there is built-in support for Wayland clients.
The company warns that the build is a test and some features may not work well. Experts do not recommend installing the alpha version on work machines or devices that are actively used to perform daily tasks. It is also reported that require 6 GB of RAM or more may not work. There are also scaling issues. Google recommends that you run games from a prepared list. All titles in it are thoroughly tested and run without critical errors.
For the first time, plans to add Steam to Chrome OS became known at the end of February this year. Then the journalists of the publication 9to5Google reported that they had found a list of devices that would receive such an opportunity. In mid-March, Greg Hartell, director of gaming products at Google, confirmed the reporters' statement and spoke about the company's plans.
bbabo.Net