Are Chromebooks Good To Game Google Thinks They Will Be - Android

Chromebooks could soon be counted among computers that are great for gaming if a recent report pointing to a Chrome OS "Game Mode" is any indication. More specifically, a new Chromium Gerrit commit points to a gaming feature dubbed "Game Mode" that leverages "Borealis" for Chromebooks. And, while the details are still slim, that will [...]

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The post Are Chromebooks Good To Game? Google Thinks They Will Be appeared first on Android Headlines.

Chromebooks could soon be counted among computers that are great for gaming if a recent report pointing to a Chrome OS "Game Mode" is any indication.

More specifically, a new Chromium Gerrit commit points to a gaming feature dubbed "Game Mode" that leverages "Borealis" for Chromebooks. And, while the details are still slim, that will activate when Borealis is run in full-screen mode. For clarity, Borealis is a gaming container that's on its way to Chrome OS. Specifically, a Steam gaming container.

What will Game Mode do for gaming on Chromebooks?

Now, Chromebooks don't necessarily come with the most powerful hardware on the market. That's likely the chief reason existing Chrome OS game platforms are cloud services. For instance, Google Stadia and GeForce NOW. The addition of a native Steam client will ensure wider support for a larger variety of games. But only the most premium Chromebooks are likely to be able to handle those games.

Where Game Mode comes in, then, is to prioritize the Borealis — Steam — in terms of both pointer locking and performance. In effect, if speculation is accurate, it will essentially pause other services and windows. Thus, focusing resources on the Steam Window in full-screen mode.

The mode could also potentially serve up easier access to chat clients or messaging, screen recording, and other game-centric features.

When is this coming?

As to when the new feature will arrive, that's anybody's guess. The commit to the Chromium repository doesn't provide many details. And those it does provide seem to suggest this is still a long way out.

Namely, the system doesn't currently implement the new Game Mode for those who want to get going on gaming on Chromebooks. Instead, it throws an error message, which the system logs. So there's obviously plenty of work still to be done behind the scenes to get the new feature functioning.

The post Are Chromebooks Good To Game? Google Thinks They Will Be appeared first on Android Headlines.