How to Download and Run Steam on a Chromebook [4 Ways]

How to Install Steam on Officially Supported Chromebooks

There's currently an official beta version of Steam available on Chrome OS, though it's only for select more powerful Chromebooks! You can see what Chromebook laptops can officially run Steam here. It's mostly laptops that have more than 8GB of RAM, and an Intel i5 or higher generation processor. 

You can try doing this with a less powerful laptop, albeit chances are very high that your Chrome OS will be very slow or downright won't allow it! But if you find your laptop in the list, then here's how you can officially download Steam on a Chromebook:

1. Start by opening the Settings on your Chromebook and select the "About Chrome OS" option on the left
2. First, click on "Additional details", then click on "Change channel", and select the "Developer" option
3. Click on "Change channel" again, and restart your Chromebook
4. Open your Chrome browser, type in the search bar "chrome://flags", and press Enter
5. Find the "Borealis Enabled" option, set it to "Enabled" on the right, and click on "Restart"
6. In your Chrome OS search bar, type in "Steam", and select the first option
7. Click on "Install", Steam will take some time to download so wait until the process is finished

If by any chance Steam doesn't pop in the Chrome OS search bar, then press Ctrl+Alt+T on your keyboard. A Crosh terminal should appear, where you'll have to enter the following command "insert_coin volteer-JOlkth573FBLGa", and press Enter. This will continue to install Steam on your Chromebook as usual, where once it's done, you'll have to log in with your Steam account!

From here on out, you can easily download and play Steam games, just keep in mind to get Linux apps and games supported by Chrome OS. Google has a list of games that should probably run smoothly on your Chromebook!

How to Install Steam Using Linux

Since Chrome OS is based on the operating system Linux, besides Android apps it can also run Linux apps. This means you can install the Linux version of Steam! For this to work though, your Chromebook has to support running Linux apps and Linux-based Steam games altogether.

Most laptops made after 2020 will support you to enable Linux apps to run. But if you have an older model, you can check just in case to try and enjoy and play Steam games freely! So without further ado, here's how to install Steam with the help of Linux:

1. Open the Settings on your Chromebook, and search for "Linux" on the top
2. Select the first Linux option if available, and click on "Turn on" next to the "Linux development environment"
3. Click on "Next", then on "Install", and wait until Linux finishes downloading which will open a Terminal
4. Go to your Chrome browser and head to the official Steam installation website
5. Click the little Steam logo under "Install Steam" and select "Save" to download the Linux version of the app
6. Open up your Chromebook's File Manager and go to the Downloads folder
7. Right-click the "steam_latest.deb" file, select "Install with Linux", and proceed with the installation

Once the installation is finished, the client can be opened from your Chromebook's launcher where it will instantly start to update. Afterward, you should be able to run Steam and login with your Steam account. Then you can go on to download and share Steam games freely!

Sometimes when you try to run Steam, you may also get hit with an error saying "You are missing the following 32-bit libraries" preventing your journey to get Steam games on a Chromebook. The error mostly appears on 64-bit Chrome OS laptops.

To fix this, go to the Chromebook launcher by clicking on the circle in the bottom left corner, and open up the Terminal. Then type in the following commands in order and press Enter after each typed command:

• sudo apt update
• sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386
• sudo apt upgrade
• sudo apt-get install --reinstall libgl1-mesa-glx:i386

If you're prompted to agree with something, press the Y key and hit Enter again. Some of these commands for updating and running Linux apps like Steam may take some time. But afterward, you should be able to run Steam freely and try to download any supported games on a Chromebook. You can even try installing the best Steam games to see if everything's working smoothly!

Use Steam on Chromebook With Game Streaming Service

If you don't want to install Steam, there's another way to play Steam games on a Chromebook without going through the process. And that can be done with the help of cloud game streaming services! What they're basically doing is allowing you to play Steam games by streaming them on your Chromebook from a more powerful computer server.

Although you won't have to install Steam on your Chromebook this way, these cloud gaming services mostly charge a monthly subscription for you to be able to even play free Steam games.

One notable cloud gaming service I'd recommend to you is GeForce NOW. And since you're using a Chromebook, Google offers special Chromebook perks where you can get a free subscription for some time!

Use Steam on Chromebook By Streaming From Your PC

You should use this method to install Steam if you have another more powerful PC as well. Unlike the previous method where you could stream games from other services, this time you'll stream and play Steam games on your Chromebook from another PC using the Steam Link Android app!

To stream games on your Chromebook from another PC, it needs to support Android apps. This means you need to have Play Store on your Chromebook, and if you don't, then this won't work and you're better sticking to playing on your main PC. Now here's how to stream games on a Chromebook from a PC with the Steam Link app:

1. Open the Google Play Store on your Chromebook, then search for and install Steam Link
2. Make sure your main PC and Chromebook are connected to the same WiFi network
   
3. Run Steam on your PC and the Steam Link app on your Chromebook
4. On the Chromebook, click on "Get Started" and choose whether you'll be using a controller or touchscreen controls
5. Choose your device next, from where you'll get a code that you have to enter into the Steam client on your PC
6. Click on "Start playing" on your Chromebook

And that's everything you need to know on how to play Steam games on a Chromebook. Although there are many ways to run Steam on Chrome OS, maybe you should even consider the best Steam alternatives if they're compatible with Linux apps for a Chromebook!