There used to be a time a long while ago when Chromebooks were just netbooks.ChromeOSwas just the Chrome experience and little else. But Google has sought ways to make Chromebooks more useful from addingsupport for Android appsto evenLinux programs. The company’s new focus is on making its lightweight do-anything operating system better for gaming and while the main thrust of it seems focused on cloud gaming — as evidenced by someflashy new gaming Chromebooks— that doesn’t mean you’re able to’t run a game locally every once in a while. In that department, Chromebook users are getting ready to celebrate a huge win as Minecraft is now available on their platform (limited in gameplay as it may be for now).
That’s because Mojang has released a newtrial of the game for Chromebooks(viaChrome Unboxed). The game solely features the Survival mode with each session limited to just 90 minutes per world. Players are welcome to start a new world if they’d like to keep playing. It’s very hard, but not impossible: some speed runners have managed to complete the game in under 10 minutes, so you could try your luck and rush through to the End Poem.
In reality, though, Mojang is really only dipping its toes into new territory and is seeking feedback and bugs from its adventurous Chromebook-toting fans. The company said the trial’s purpose is to “capture platform-specific data for bug fixes and technical troubleshooting.”
That said, if you live in the United States or Canada, you’re out of luck for the moment. Crafters in Mexico live in one of the 17 eligible countries and regions for the Chromebook trial — the list also includes Australia, India, Denmark, France, Germany, and Turkey. A Microsoft account isn’t required to play the trial, but once it advances into a stable state, expect to have to hop that hurdle.
Note that a Minecraft Education Edition is already available on Chromebooks for some lucky users with a Microsoft 365 Education account. There are also workarounds that involve both the Linux and the Android phone versions of the game, though neither of these are perfect for Chromebooks.
If you live in a supported country, you can download it now from the Google Play Store.
Correction: Minecraft is already available on Chromebooks as an Education Edition. We’ve updated the article accordingly.
