Asus
Google and a few of its Chromebook companions determined to attempt making “gaming Chromebooks” a factor late final 12 months. These machines included some gaming laptop computer options like configurable RGB keyboards and excessive refresh price screens, however as a result of they nonetheless used built-in GPUs, they have been meant largely to be used with streaming companies like Nvidia’s GeForce Now and Microsoft’s Xbox Cloud Gaming.
But there have been additionally apparently plans for some gaming Chromebooks with the facility to play extra video games domestically. Earlier this 12 months, 9to5Google noticed developer feedback earlier this 12 months pointing to a Chromebook board (codenamed Hades) that will have included a devoted GeForce RTX 4050 GPU just like the one present in some Windows gaming notebooks. This board would have served as a basis that a number of PC makers may have used to construct Chromebooks.
But these fashions apparently will not be seeing the sunshine of day anytime quickly. Developer feedback noticed by About Chromebooks this week point out that the Hades board (plus a few different Nvidia-equipped boards, Agah and Herobrine) has been canceled, which implies that any laptops primarily based on that board will not be occurring.
“Herobrine, Hades, and Agah are all cancelled,” the remark reads. “The infra (overlays, builders, and many others) have already been shut down for them. Delete.”
This doesn’t suggest that Chromebooks with devoted GPUs won’t ever occur—AMD and Intel make devoted laptop computer GPUs as effectively, although they’re far much less well-liked than Nvidia’s. But at the least for now, it looks as if somebody inside Google or on the PC corporations has determined that Chromebooks with devoted GPUs aren’t definitely worth the effort.
Local gaming in ChromeOS is a heavy elevate
Had they occurred, these Chromebooks would have confronted software program compatibility challenges. Google had made progress in getting the Linux model of the Steam consumer operating in Chrome OS. Because it is a Linux working system at its core, ChromeOS can run many Windows video games because of the identical Proton compatibility layer utilized by the Steam Deck (and obtainable to desktop Linux OSes like Ubuntu).
But the extra restrictions on Linux apps operating in ChromeOS meant that help was nonetheless spotty. As of November 2022, the anti-cheat software program that many multiplayer video games require nonetheless wasn’t working, and exterior displays weren’t supported. Games operating on 1440p and 4K shows have been additionally apparently taking further efficiency hits, even when they have been operating at decrease resolutions. And workarounds have been wanted to be sure that sufficient storage was being allotted for video games, particularly ones that downloaded further content material post-install.
It’s not as if there’s zero constituency for a Chromebook that may play video games domestically. Chromebooks are well-liked in faculties, and younger individuals shopping for their first gaming PCs may have had the choice to stay with an working system they’re used to.
But I am unable to say I’m unhappy to see the concept go. These laptops would have mixed all the issues which can be already flawed with gaming laptops—primarily excessive temperatures, lack of repairability and upgradeability, and excessive prices relative to an entry-level gaming desktop—and they’d have added the issue of taking part in Windows video games on Linux, and of operating Linux apps on ChromeOS. These sacrifices, the slumping PC market, and the added work of supporting Nvidia GPUs in ChromeOS might have prompted Google to kill the challenge.