(Credit: PCMag / Valve / Google)
After nearly three years in beta, Google is ending its experiment with Steam for Chromebooks. The software is set to be shut down early next year, according to a message now visible on the service.
As spotted by 9to5Google, downloading Steam to a Chromebook now tells you it will be concluding. The message reads, “The Steam for Chromebook Beta program will conclude on January 1st, 2026. After this date, games installed as part of the Beta will no longer be available to play on your device.”
For now, you can continue to play games, and you’re still able to download the software. Although it says January 1, 2026, it sounds like the last day you'll be able to actively play games through the platform will be on December 31, 2025.
The feature has remained in beta since its launch in November 2022. It first saw some significant investment from Google, including an expansion to more devices, but things quietened down and recent updates to the beta have been limited.
Google appears to be keeping the door open to a return to the idea or to further expand alternatives to game on Chromebooks. Google's message also says, “We appreciate your participation in and contribution to learnings from the beta program, which will inform the future of Chromebook gaming.”
What the future of Chromebook gaming looks like remains unclear. However, if it were to be a significant investment from Google, we would have likely heard about that before the brand announced the end of Steam software on the platform.
If you’ve been playing titles through Steam, you’ll want to either play through your games before the end date, or prepare a new way to play the games elsewhere.
Google hasn’t had great success with gaming platforms in recent years. A few months before Steam for Chromebooks hit beta, the company announced it would be shutting down its Stadia cloud gaming service. It eventually shut down in early 2023.