How to play Minecraft Bedrock on Chromebook

For quite some time, Minecraft wasn't exactly available on computers using the Chromebook operating system. The Education Edition of the game could be played, but otherwise, fans had to rely on third-party methods to run the game since there was no official release outside of the education space.

Fortunately, Mojang appears to have heard the concerns of fans utilizing Chromebook devices. On March 15, 2023, the studio's employee, Sophie Austin, penned a blog post detailing that Minecraft: Bedrock Edition is making its way to Chromebook devices.

This ChromeOS version of the game is currently in Early Access, meaning some players can enjoy the game on Chromebook right now. Mojang also stated that the game will be accessible to all players at a later date.

Depending on a few factors, Minecraft fans can purchase and download Bedrock Edition and enjoy it on their Chromebook right away.

Minimum requirements to run Minecraft Bedrock on Chromebook and how to download

Minecraft: Bedrock Edition for Chromebook is expected to be launched alongside the Trails & Tales update (Image via Mojang)

As an Early Access game, this new iteration of Minecraft: Bedrock Edition is only available for certain ChromeOS hardware. According to Sophie Austin, this is due to Mojang Studios' desire to playtest the game on a smaller sample size of Chromebooks before it expands and permits more ChromeOS laptops to run it.

According to Austin, players will also be able to enjoy the upcoming Trails & Tales update on Chromebook. This suggests that the new iteration of the game will be released before or alongside Trails & Tales.

Whatever the case may be, the blog post also outlined Mojang's hardware requirements to qualify for participation in Early Access testing.

Here are the minimum requirements to run Minecraft Bedrock on a Chromebook:

Operating System - ChromeOS 111
System Architecture - 64-bit (x86_64, arm64-v8a)
Processor - Intel Celeron N4500, Mediatek MT8183, Qualcomm SC7180, Intel i3-7130U or a superior CPU
Minimum Memory - Four gigabytes of RAM
Storage - Minimum disk space of one gigabyte

If players meet the requirements listed above, they should be eligible to purchase and download Minecraft: Bedrock Edition on their Chromebook. The official way they can do this is through the Google Play Store, which will have a store page to download the game if a player meets the hardware specs that Mojang has outlined.

With just a few clicks, players should be able to download the game as an application on their Chromebook and enjoy the open-world sandbox much like they would on other devices.

Here's how to download Bedrock Edition on Chromebook:

From your Chromebook, open the Google Play Store app.
Search for "Minecraft" in your search bar. If you meet the minimum requirements, the store page should appear. If it doesn't, you may have to wait until the full release, as Mojang stated that only certain devices will be able to playtest the game.
Open the game's store page and click the purchase/install button. If you're buying the game for the first time, enter your account credentials and payment information. After doing so, the game should begin installing automatically. If you've bought the game before and use the same Google account to download it, you may be able to download it directly without making another purchase.
Once the download completes, exit the Google Play Store and open your app drawer. The game should be available to open and play.

If players aren't able to download the Early Access version of Minecraft Bedrock, there are a few methods to utilize as an alternative.

Thanks to the dedication of fans, it's possible to play the game on Chromebook for both Java and Bedrock Editions. However, these methods aren't sanctioned by Mojang and tend to involve some form of emulation, which can cause performance issues, unexpected bugs, or glitches.

It's also worth noting that players who emulate the game on Chromebook in this manner are technically violating the game's Terms of Service and End User License Agreement.

Lastly, it's technically possible to play Education Edition on Chromebooks. However, accessing the full version may be tricky for players who aren't part of the education space as a student or a teacher.