There are very few games that have achieved the level of success Minecraft has. It’s one of thebest gamesout there, without a doubt. Minecraft has stayed relevant for two decades now, since the initial release of its full version in 2011, but it was already gaining traction even before that. Currently, you’re able to play Minecraft on many different kinds of devices, including, but not limited to, computers, game consoles, and even your smartphone. However, there’s one class of extra-popular laptops that has been excluded until now — Chromebooks. That’s changing today, as Microsoft is releasing Minecraft for Chromebooks as a preview version to everyone.
An early-access version of Minecraft for Chromebooks has been released,as announced by Microsoft. You can check it out on yourfavorite ChromeOS-powered devicethat supports Android apps. This followsthe release of a triala few weeks ago. You can play it on those fancy new gaming Chromebooks, or you can play it on any Chromebook that meets the minimum requirements. You’ll need at least ChromeOS 111, 64-bit support, and a CPU equal to, or better, than an Intel Celeron N4500, Intel Core i3-7130U, MediaTek MT8183, or Qualcomm SC7180. You also need at least 4GB of RAM and enough space for a 1GB install.
If your laptop meets the above requirement but you still can’t find the new early-access version of Minecraft on the Google Play Store, it’s because this testing version is only available for hand-picked Chromebooks. This is meant to test performance before a wider rollout. This early-access version also means that you’ll probably see some bugs, so if you want to play without worrying about potentially game-breaking issues, you might want to wait until the full, final version is released. This version is really just good for people interested in testing it out earlier and potentially help developers fix issues, or otherwise ensure it’s ready for primetime.
Note that Minecraft has technically been available on Chromebooks as an Education Edition since 2020. This requires a Microsoft 365 Education account, though, which isn’t obtainable by everyone. There are also some workarounds involving the Linux version and the existing mobile Android version, though neither of these are properly optimized for Chromebooks.
Despite the Early Access tag, you’ll still need to pay up to get started with the game. A new Chromebook + Android bundle is available for $20, which includes both the Chromebook and the Android version of Minecraft. you may also “upgrade” your $7 Android version of the game to include the Chromebook release for $13.
