What Browser Does the Steam Client Use? Chromium Embedded Framework

As an avid Steam gamer and content creator myself, I get asked often – what browser does Steam use under the hood? After digging into Valve‘s documentation and forums, the answer is clear:

The Steam client primarily leverages Chromium Embedded Framework (CEF) as its embedded browser. CEF allows the full capabilities of the open-source Chromium browser project to be integrated seamlessly into other desktop applications.

So when accessing the Steam store, community pages, or any other areas that render web content – you are essentially using a specialized version of Chromium tailored for Steam by Valve.

Unpacking CEF – Bringing Chromium to Applications

CEF is essentially a framework for embedding Chromium in other programs rather than using it as a standalone browser. Some key advantages:

• Access to full Chromium rendering capabilities
• Tighter integration with application UI and controls
• Customization and extension for specific use cases
• Improved security when sandboxed within the app

This allows large applications like Steam, Spotify, Slack, and many others to provide integrated browser functionality designed specifically for their users.

Steam Stats:

• Peak concurrent users in 2022: Over 30 million
• Monthly active users as of 2023: 120 million
• Supported platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux, consoles

With a massive cross-platform user base like this, utilizing CEF for integrated browsing makes sense for Valve and Steam.

Integrating Chromium via CEF allows features like browsing the Steam store without having to leave your game.

Chromium vs Chrome vs CEF

I find that Chromium and CEF tend to get confused with each other, so here‘s a quick rundown:

• Chromium – The open source browser project started by Google that serves as the basis for other browsers
• Chrome – Google‘s proprietary browser built on top of Chromium
• CEF – Framework to embed Chromium‘s browser capabilities into desktop apps like Steam

Chrome and Chromium are very closely aligned since Chrome utilizes Chromium‘s rendering engine and JavaScript processing. But Chrome has some additional proprietary components added by Google.

CEF leverages Chromium rather than Chrome. So Valve can deeply customize and extend Chromium‘s functionality specifically for Steam through CEF.

Is Steam Using the Latest Chromium?

According to community forums and my testing, Steam currently embeds Chromium 85 via CEF. That puts it nearly 3 years behind the latest stable Chromium releases!

Why the outdated version? Likely technical debt or perhaps backwards compatibility concerns. But as a gamer and web developer myself, I think Valve should prioritize updating for performance and security reasons.

Hopefully with the recent Steam Deck launch bringing in new revenue, some of that gets reinvested into modernizing web functionality. 🤞

How Does Steam Browser Security Stack Up?

Luckily, leveraging CEF over standalone Chromium provides some security advantages for Steam. The browser is tightly sandboxed and restricted from accessing most system resources.

And since Steam handles auto-updating, any Chromium vulnerabilities can be addressed directly by Valve. This prevents having to rely on end users to manually patch things.

However, you are still more at risk from security flaws compared to a current Chrome/Chromium browser:

So while not perfect, Steam‘s integrated browser speeds up gaming experiences despite some outdated components. Let‘s hope Valve continues investing in improvements here!

CEF Embedded Browser Benefits for Steam

By leveraging Chromium via CEF rather than building browser capabilities from scratch, Steam gets quite a bit of embedded browser functionality out of the box:

• Hardware accelerated rendering via GPU
• Support for media playback, Flash, PDFs, and more
• Integration with Chromium developer tools for debugging
• Multi-process architecture for stability
• Touch screen and HiDPI display support
• Full web standards support (HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, etc.)

Those synergies allow Valve to focus development on the core gaming functionality rather than re-inventing browser foundations.

So in summary – when browsing Steam, you are likely using Chromium under the hood via CEF integration. And for good reason given Chromium‘s widespread browser capabilities.

As a Steam loyalist myself, I‘d love to see Valve double down on improving web/browser functionality to address dated components. But even as-is, Steam leverages Chromium well to enable quick access to gaming content rather than fully tabbing away.

What has your experience been using Steam‘s built-in browser? Smooth sailing or rather slow and buggy? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!