The Steam beta was one component of a "gaming Chromebook" push that Google made in 2022 and 2023. It saw the release of laptops with better hardware and high-refresh-rate screens and optimized versions of GeForce Now and Xbox Cloud Gaming. Google had reportedly been working to add Steam support to ChromeOS since at least 2020.

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.