Steam is the preeminent online marketplace for PC gaming, but Valve is cutting support for an entire platform at the beginning of next year.

Google is winding down its Steam for Chromebooks experiment, with support set to end in 2026. After nearly three years in beta, the Steam app and all games installed through it will no longer be playable on ChromeOS devices,

Steam support on Chrome OS has been in an experimental stage for years now, first arriving as an early alpha back in 2022. You needed a decently powerful Chromebook, and getting it up and running was bit more complicated than installing your standard app, but in the end it worked, and made Chromebooks feel a heck of a lot more premium.

The Steam beta that launched on select Chromebooks back in 2022 will be discontinued on January 1, 2026, and all games will stop working after that date.

Google's plan to retire Steam for Chromebooks was discovered when 9to5Google tried to install the launcher on a new laptop. "The Steam for Chromebook Beta program will conclude on January 1st, 2026," a new notice reads when you download Steam.

Google is reportedly discontinuing support for the Steam for Chromebook Beta programme by early 2026.Chromebook users attempting to release the beta app are now receiving a pop-up message telling them about the forthcoming shutdown.

Many newer Chromebooks are capable of playing Steam games, and with Proton, they're even able to run certain Windows PC games.