We do not instinctively imagine Chromebooks as machines for gamers. And yet, Google has the ambition to make the Chrome OS platform a paradise for gamers!
If the Chromebook has found its place in the education sector (in the United States in particular), you rarely see computers running Chrome OS in gamers. Google has every intention of changing this perception of things, and opening up a new path for Chromebooks, that of video games.
RGB keyboard support
HP and Lenovo are currently testing “gaming” Chromebooks, according to the site 9to5Google who found references to these devices, all equipped with an RGB keyboard (which Chrome OS has recently supported, any sign?). This type of keyboard is well known among gamers, who appreciate models from Razer and other manufacturers. Three computers are in preparation, including a tablet with a detachable keyboard.
For those who closely follow the news of the Chromebook platform, this rumor is not a surprise. Two years ago, Google dangled support for Steam in Chrome OS, but since then the search engine has been very discreet on the subject. The idea is to develop a virtual machine in which Steam and Linux games could run with good performance.
Last summer, Nvidia presented a demo of ray tracing and DLSS (its 4K upscaling technology based on artificial intelligence) on Chromebooks powered by ARM chips. The pieces of the puzzle are starting to come together, but for the moment it is impossible to predict when Google intends to lift the veil on this novelty. Maybe in May, at the Google I/O developer conference?
Valve could be a partner of choice: the Steam Deck console is indeed based on Linux, and it could help popularize video games on this operating system.
