How to install Steam on a Chromebook

There are already numerous guides out there for installing Steam on Chromebooks with Crouton, but that requires putting your Chromebook into developer mode, which is not ideal.

However, in 2018 Google added native Linux app support to Chrome OS via project Crostini. This is a guide for installing Steam on a Chromebook via the native Linux app support.

Step 1: Check if your device is supported

First, make sure that your device supports Linux apps. If your device was released in 2019 or later, there’s a good chance it does. If you have an older Chromebook, you can check if it is in the list of supported devices on XDA: https://www.xda-developers.com/chromebooks-linux-app-support/.

Step 2: Enable Linux App support

Assuming your device is supported, there are a few steps you’ll need to take to access Linux Apps. Follow this guide on How To Geek to enable them: https://www.howtogeek.com/363331/how-to-set-up-and-use-linux-apps-on-chrome-os/. Note that if you need to change your device to the beta/developer channel it does not require a factory reset (i.e. powerwash). On the other hand, if you want to switch back to the stable channel afterwards, that will require a factory reset.

Step 3: Enable GPU acceleration

Enabling GPU acceleration will make your games run much faster on your Chromebook. You can follow this guide to turn it on: https://www.xda-developers.com/chrome-os-76-gpu-support-linux-apps/.

Step 4: Install Steam

The Linux terminal in Chrome OS is basically running a Debian virtual machine, so you’ll want to follow the instructions found here in your terminal: https://wiki.debian.org/Steam

When you’re finished with that, you can now run Steam by running this command in your terminal:

steam

The first time it runs, the user interface might be tiny if you’re on a high density screen. You can fix this by going into the menu Steam => Settings => Interface and checking the box next to Enlarge text and icons based on monitor size. After restarting steam, everything should look normal.

Steam running natively in Chrome OS

That’s it! You can now run Steam natively on your Chromebook! As you can see in my screenshot, I’ve already installed Jackbox Party Pack 3 and Broforce and confirmed that they run. With Steam working to add their own Linux support for most Windows games, things can only get better from here. :)