Say what you will about the benefits of Chrome OS, but it's simply not a gaming system: while Chromebooks are getting more and more powerful, the majority of games for this platform are either casual time-wasting games or Android games intended to be played on mobile phones. However, Steam may be coming to Google's operating system.

This information comes exclusively from Android Police, where journalist David Ruddock recounts a conversation he had with Chrome OS Director of Product Management Kan Liu at CES. According to Liu, the Chrome team is working hard to bring Steam to Chrome OS, but it remains a bit vague as to whether Valve is a direct partner in this plan. This is not an absolute guarantee that Steam will appear on the system, but all the right elements seem to be in place.

Liu did not say when Steam would appear on Chrome OS or what games users would be able to play. After all, Steam itself is not a game client, but merely a storefront and launch platform; most games on Steam still require Windows compatibility, and those explicitly compatible with Chrome OS, if any, are Very few, if any. [On the other hand, as Ruddock points out, Chrome OS generally works well with Linux, and Steam is one of the only digital game stores to offer Linux compatibility. Even today, it is possible to play Linux games on Chrome OS if one is willing to take a rather cumbersome workaround.

However, there is also the issue of minimum system requirements; Chromebooks tend to have less powerful processors than Windows machines, and integrated GPUs on Chromebooks are the rule, not the option. Not to mention RAM and storage capacity, which are essential for high-end gaming.

On the other hand, demanding, big-budget games are hardly the only options available on Steam. Currently, Steam's Linux options include Stardew Valley, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Civilization VI, Rocket League, and Hollow Knight, all of which are low-end systems (with varying degrees of fidelity). All of them run on low-end systems (with varying degrees of fidelity). I don't think it's too controversial to say that even this small selection represents a significant improvement over most of what is currently available on Chrome OS.

Of course, another reason to have Steam on a Chromebook is remote play: with Steam set up on your PC, you can stream games to other Steam-enabled machines on the same network. Not as good as playing games natively, but much better than trying to play remote games on Chrome OS at the moment. (A Linux workaround is required, but like most Linux workarounds, it works when it seems to work.)

In any case, the addition of Steam won't make Chrome OS a gaming powerhouse overnight. But as Chromebook specs continue to improve (the $999 Samsung Galaxy Chromebook, for example, will be available), users will want to do something with their resources. They will also be able to play good games.