According to a recent report, changes in the Chrome OS suggests that Gaming Chromebooks are coming soon. For the uninitiated, Chrome OS is a free and open-source operating system from Google. Most people primarily use it for basic tasks like document editing, surfing the web etc. However, Chrome OS is more than likely to get native Steam support in the near future. Not only that but you can also expect Gaming Chromebooks with dedicated GPUs to launch as well.
According to some recent changes in the Chrome OS code, it will soon have full support for RGB keyboards allowing for in-depth key customisation. A Chrome OS code suggests “*” as an upcoming brand of detachable keyboards for Chromebooks. The Chrome OS code also suggests two upcoming gaming Chromebooks namely – Vell and Taniks.
Quanta computers based in Taiwan is most likely the candidate to manufacture Vell. Quanta’s employees recently developed products for HP and therefore an OMEN branded Gaming Chromebook could be on the cards.
Meanwhile, LCFC electronics, the largest R&D and manufacturing base for Lenovo is probably developing the Taniks Gaming Chromebook. A recent report also suggested that Nvidia and Mediatek are working together to bring RTX graphics to Chromebooks.
However, the most important announcement here is the Steam support for Google Chrome OS. At present, PC gaming is mostly limited to Windows OS with Linux gaming gaining popularity on small fringes. However, a natively running Steam app on Chrome OS could open the door for a lot of gamers to have a legitimate option other than WIndows. Considering how much time it took for Linux gaming to gain traction, I wouldn’t get my hopes up just yet for gaming on Chrome OS. Furthermore, Google is infamous for abandoning projects, what I mean is “none of your friends play on Stadia,” and they most likely never will. So keeping our hopes in check might be the best thing right now.