We had seen the trend arrived at IFA, especially at Thomson with a laptop with modest specifications but taking up the codes of the PC gaming in order to take advantage of cloud-gaming platforms. As a reminder, a cloud-gaming service provides video games whose rendering is performed on servers, requires the user to have a device connected – ideally to fiber – to display the rendering of his game on the screen of their choice, all of which is accessible via a paid subscription.
Google is fully embarking on the concept since, on paper, the Mountain View giant had all the elements in its hands: Chromebooks with modest performance, already used on services such as Nvidia’s GeForce Now, but also the service of cloud-gaming Stadia, unfortunately closed last week.
Fast screens but above all RGB keyboards
As for Chromebooks, Google asked its partners for models a little more gaming than current Chromebooks. The specifications are relatively simple: a large, well-defined screen with a high refresh rate, wifi 6 and, of course, an RGB keyboard, even if it means being clichéd.
From left to right, the Gaming Chromebooks from Lenovo, Acer and Asus. ©Google
For this launch, Acer, Asus and Lenovo have teamed up with Google to each offer a Chromebook Gaming model.
Acer and Lenovo take a very similar approach with 16-inch models displaying 2560 x 1600 pixels at 120Hz. W) in i3 or i5 and, on the Acer Chromebook 516 GE, P series (28 W) in i5 or i7. For its part, Asus has reused its convertible Chromebook, the CX55 Flip, by adding a red and black design, a Full HD panel at 144 Hz and a keyboard – with ZQSD keys circled in red – equipped with anti-ghosting ( like at Acer).
The Acer Chromebook 516 GE seems best equipped for its use with 6E wifi, an RJ45 port and an HDMI 2.1 port. The Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming Chromebook, for its part, ignores the RJ45 and the HDMI port, while the Asus Chromebook Vibe CX55 Flip “only” has wifi 6 and an HDMI 2.0 port.
To support Chromebook Gaming, Google has also worked with accessory manufacturers to complete the ecosystem. Acer, Corsair, HyperX, Lenovo and SteelSeries will thus offer certified peripherals “works with Chromebook” so that the user can equip without worrying about compatibility.
HyperX Cloud II headset, SteelSeries Rival 3 mouse wireless and the SteelSeries Stratus+ controller are certified “works with Chromebook”. ©Google
GeForce Now, Xbox Cloud Gaming and Luna
In the absence of Stadia, Google has this time teamed up with Nvidia, Amazon and Microsoft to integrate their cloud-gaming services. The GeForce Now application is thus preloaded on Chromebook Gaming and its integration thus makes it possible to search for games in the catalog directly in the ChromeOS search bar, then to launch the game in question.
Games available according to cloud-gaming services. ©Google
Nvidia’s offering offers more than 1,000 games and promises to achieve performance capable of taking advantage of integrated screens on Chromebook Gaming, up to 1,600 pixels at 120 Hz.
Microsoft is also part of the Xbox Cloud Gaming, via an application to install. This time it will be possible to enjoy games such as Forza Horizon 5 and flight simulator without having to worry about setting it up or installing updates. North American residents will also be able to take advantage of Luna, Amazon’s cloud-gaming service. Finally, Google has confirmed to us that it continues to work on porting Steam to Chrome OS, since the application is available in Alpha. However, no deadline was given for the availability of a final version.
The Gaming Chromebooks will soon be available from €799 for the Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming Chromebook, €999 for the Acer Chromebook 516 GE, to which it will be necessary to add any subscriptions to cloud-gaming services starting at €9.99. Apart from the paradigm shift, Chromebook Gaming will have a lot to do to compete with laptops gaming traditional, which can also be found under the 1000 € mark.