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You can install Steam Link in Chrome OS and play your whole library.
Chromebooks aren’t really gaming devices. Sure we can play a few web games but AAA games on a sub $200 device isn’t going to cut it, unless we employ a little ingenuity.
Steam Link is an application to connect a compatible device to a gaming PC running Steam. It is merely a client that sends input to the Steam PC, and receives a video stream, giving the player the means to remotely play their games. Steam Link runs on many devices – you can even install Steam Link on Raspberry Pi, but handily for us there is also an Android client that we can use with a compatible Chrome OS device.
Newer Chrome OS devices are an interesting mix. They can now run a Linux container, essentially a Linux OS inside of Chrome OS (see how to run Linux on a Chromebook). We can run GUI Linux applications in Chrome OS without the need to hack. We can also run Android apps alongside both Chrome OS and Linux, giving us a flexible platform for not much money.
We tested our setup with The Ascent and Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga and everything played well. We were connected to our router using 5GHz and our Steam PC was connected to the network via Gigabit Ethernet.
Before we start the process, ensure that Steam is installed and running on your computer.
1. Select Settings from the Steam dropdown menu in the top-left corner.
The Google Play Store is available to compatible Chrome device and it will only be available to those machines. Installation is extremely simple and we can install many of the Android apps that we use on our cell phones. When launching an Android app for the first time, Chrome OS will run a little slow as it starts up a virtual machine, but after that everything will run slick.
1. Click on the time in the bottom right of the screen. This will open a menu where we can manage our Chrome OS device.
2. Click on the Settings cog. This will open the Settings window. 
1. Click on the time in the bottom right of the screen. This will open a menu where we can manage our Chrome OS device.
2. Click on the Settings cog. This will open the Settings window.
5. Select your Bluetooth controller to connect.
1. Open the Google Play Store.
2. Search for Steam Link and click on the suggested Steam Link app. Installation will take a few moments.
3. Go to your applications and click on Steam Link to start. We can bring up the app drawer by pressing the spyglass key, swiping up from the bottom of the screen, or two finger scrolling from the bottom to the top of the trackpad. 
Steam Link on a Chromebook runs in Big Picture mode, a mode designed for controllers and touchscreens. This is different to what we see on the Steam Deck, but it works in a similar manner.
On first boot, Steam Link will take us through a setup process to identify our controller, run a network test and search for a Steam PC on the network.
1. Select the correct controller. If you are using an Xbox controller, like we did, select Other. 
MORE: AMD Ryzen 5000 C-Series: First 8-Core x86 CPUs for Chromebooks
MORE: Select Chromebooks Get Alpha Version of Steam
Les Pounder is an associate editor at Tom’s Hardware. He is a creative technologist and for seven years has created projects to educate and inspire minds both young and old. He has worked with the Raspberry Pi Foundation to write and deliver their teacher training program «Picademy».
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