Minecraft Heads to Google Chromebooks

If you ever wanted to play Minecraft over a Chromebook, there’s good news: Microsoft is bringing the game to Google’s Chrome OS. 

Microsoft’s Mojang Studios is releasing an early access version of Minecraft: Bedrock Edition, which is now available for Chromebooks, but only those that meet the right specs(Opens in a new window). 

Eligible devices will need a processor running at least a Intel Celeron N4500, Intel i3-7130U, Mediatek MT8183 or Qualcomm SC7180. Other requirements include 4GB of RAM and ChromeOS 11. Owners can easily find out if they can run the game by visiting the Minecraft Google Play Store listing(Opens in a new window), and checking if they can buy it.

(Mojang)

If it’s not available for your device model, then you’ll have to wait. Mojang plans on releasing a full version of Minecraft for all ChromeOS devices, but the studio is remaining mum on the exact release date. For now, the goal is to iron out the Minecraft experience among a select crop of Chromebook devices. “We still expect that there may be some bugs,” the studio added. 

Fortunately, the Chrome OS version of Minecraft already features “cross-device play,” meaning you should be able to visit Minecraft players across other operating systems. The early access version also includes support for Minecraft Marketplace and Minecraft Realms.  

Mojang said it was bringing Minecraft to Chrome OS to reach more people. But the studio also announced the news when Microsoft continues to lobby international regulators to clear its $69 billion deal to buy Activision Blizzard. To address antitrust fears, Microsoft has been striking deals to show its games won’t be confined to the Xbox and Windows PC ecosystem, but will become available to numerous competing platforms. 

The Chrome OS version of Minecraft is currently on sale as a bundle that includes the Android edition of the game for a total of $19.99. If you already own the Android edition, you can get the Chrome version for $13.00. 

If you can't run Minecraft for your Chromebook yet, the good news is that the game is already available(Opens in a new window) for many other major platforms, including Nintendo Switch, PlayStation and Linux, along with Windows and macOS.