Steam is getting closer and closer to release on Chrome OS: colleagues of 9to5google over the weekend they found a change in the operating system’s Gerrit that even lists the first compatible models. For the moment the list is very short: three Acer, two ASUS, an HP and a Lenovo still unknown. The requirements, however, relegate the experience to the medium / high range: you need 11th generation Intel Core i5 or i7 processors or newer, and at least 7 GB of RAM (note: no ARM chip). Here is the list:
- Time | Acer Chromebook 514 (CB514-1H)
- Volet | Acer Chromebook 515
- Voxel | Acer Chromebook Spin 713 (CP713-3W)
- Delbin | ASUS Chromebook Flip CX5 (CX5500)
- Drobit | ASUS Chromebook CX9 (CX9400)
- Elemi | HP Pro c640 G2 Chromebook
- Lindar | Unknown, Lenovo
It is worth noting that it is about rather expensive devices: we still do not find them, but the US price lists speak for example of over 1,200 dollars for the HP with Core i5, and over 800 for the ASUS CX5 with i5.
Google itself is working to make Steam, the most established video game marketplace (and not only) in the PC world, available with its operating system for over a couple of years now. Several interesting details have emerged recently about the initiative – changes to the code indicate that NVIDIA is also participating, and last month the first signs of support for laptop with RGB keyboard. It could be argued that a Chromebook as we have known it so far is not exactly the first example that comes to mind when it comes to PC gaming, but it is important to note that NVIDIA is always working to implement support for Discrete GPUs.
In short, Google’s ambitions regarding gaming on Chrome OS seem to go far beyond running a few casual games. There is no denying that, especially in the consumer world, video games remain one of the great points in favor of Windows – not the only one, of course, but perhaps the most difficult for the competition to overcome. It should also be remembered that it seems that Stadia is not doing very well, and that Google is even trying to get rid of it by selling the technology to others. By joining all the dots, the shape of a plane B becomes more and more defined.
