Steam for ChromeOS, or whatever, Steam for Chromebooksit’s already in beta, opening the door for other players, or what’s the same thing, “betasters” to hit hard and confirm that things are going in the right direction.

Well, actually comparing Chromebooks to ChromeOS still applies because it’s only the former if you have the latter, but since Google released Chrome OS Flex for use on any computer, the latter is no longer equivalent to the latter. And one more note: Chrome OS is now ChromeOS.

But let’s stop with nonsense and focus on the ones that matter, after half a year of testing, after the official arrival of Steam on Chromebooks and Steam for ChromeOS was announced, here the resolution matters , the company announces the next step forward: the alpha phase is behind and entering beta.

What does it mean? That Steam development for ChromeOS will stabilize and the experience will stabilize, so there is less and less left for the premiere of the service, as it goes, with all – or almost all – the law. But not so fast: there are few players, beta testers, who will be able to jump on the bandwagon, and for very different reasons.

The first and most important is that gaming is not one of the niches that Google is targeting with its operating system, although there is no doubt that when Steam is ready for ChromeOS, it will be an interesting shock for the platform to see that it can also be installed on any computer. But getting to the heart of the matter, there are other considerations that can be overlooked.

For example, you can now only test Steam for ChromeOS select Chromebook models, which have hardware that meets the requirements of the Steam client and some others; and that even with a compatible Chromebook, you have to use a Dev or Canary version, both unstable and only recommended for development work, and also follow a cumbersome process that the average user won’t want to know about. . All this is as it is.

In other words, Steam for ChromeOS is only available to developers with an interest in the subject or very coffee and reckless. At the same time, represents a milestone in development of this characteristic to be taken into account, as it represents half the way before the invention is made available to all… that of course it fulfills the requirements of the past.

As Google clearly has, this is the level that its ChromeOS, and therefore Chromebooks, must reach. Watch out, Valve is also clear: more Steam Deck, more SteamOS and Chromebooks. That is, blockwise, because the work is reused in different areas, all on the Linux side.

Speaking of which, ChromeOS Flex left beta a few months ago, so if you’re interested in trying it out, it’s within everyone’s reach. Don’t miss our ChromeOS Flex installation guide to see it in full detail.