Google wants to use Chrome OS Ubuntu for Steam support

Google would like to move to an Ubuntu Linux subsystem to enable Steam support on Chrome OS. Currently, Chrome OS can run Debian-Linux in a virtual machine, for developer purposes.

Currently, Chrome OS has support for running Linux apps, through a Debian-based Linux subsystem called Crostini that runs in a virtual machine on the device. When Google announced earlier this year that it wanted to get Steam working on Chrome OS, it was assumed that Google would want to use Crostini for this.

However, 9to5Google has discovered Chrome OS code, hinting at the arrival of an Ubuntu-based project. This subsystem would work just like Crostini in a virtual machine in Chrome OS. For this, the site refers to recent code changes around Borealis, the project name that Google is said to have given the Ubuntu subsystem. This code change refers to ‘VM functionality’.

The site claims to have obtained a copy of Borealis and notes that it is Ubuntu, with Steam installed by default. It therefore seems that Google will switch from Debian to Ubuntu for Steam support. Ubuntu is the recommended Linux distribution for Steam. Whether this means Chrome OS will no longer support Debian is unclear. Based on another, recent code change, 9to5Google writes that Steam will probably first work on Chromebooks with a tenth generation Intel Core processor.

Last year, Valve said it wanted to work with more Linux distributions after it appeared for a while that Ubuntu would no longer support Steam. Even so, Ubuntu is still listed as the necessary Linux distro to run the Steam for Linux client. Presumably, that’s why Google would want to switch to the Ubuntu distro.