Microsoft has announced that Minecraft is coming to Chromebooks and is available to try right away via an Early Access release. The game will include “cross-device play with friends, access to the Minecraft Marketplace, and the ability to play in Realms,” according to developer Mojang.
It will require a decently equipped Chromebook with specific processors, 4GB of RAM, and 1GB of storage, as detailed here. Those requirements may frustrate some potential users, considering that Chromebooks are widely used in schools and that Minecraft it is played by many children.
“Early Access means that at this early stage, only select Chromebook devices that meet the minimum requirements will have the option to purchase Minecraftso you will have to check the Google Play Store to see if Minecraft is available to you,” according to the blog post. “This isn’t because we want to single out some of our players as special (we love them all equally!), it’s so we can test the game’s performance before making it.” .available to more players.”
The “early access” part also means that users will have to put up with some bugs, although they will pay for it. “We still expect some bugs, and that’s where we’ll need your help,” the company wrote. “If you come across goat-eating frogs, milking squids, or disco-dancing Ender dragons, let us know!”
Until now, it has only been possible to play Minecraft on Chromebooks using the Education Edition or a version of Java. The Chromebook + Android bundle costs us $20, the Android-only version costs $7, and an Android Chromebook upgrade costs $13. Existing Minecraft worlds will not carry over to the Chromebook version and you will need a Microsoft account to play.
It is not known when the final version will arrive or if the minimum requirements will change. In any case, if you don’t see the early access version in the Google Play store, your Chromebook probably isn’t compatible.
