Minecraft is an uber-popular game from Mojang Studios where countless players join hands and create amazing 3D environments made up of blocks. Meet countless entities on the way and create whatever you want and that is just the tip of the iceberg for Minecraft. You just bought a Chromebook (or you already had one) and decide to play Minecraft be it for joy or peer pressure. So the question is, how to get Minecraft on Chromebook? There are three versions of Minecraft available nowadays i.e. Minecraft Education Edition, Bedrock Edition, and Java Edition, and all three can be installed on Chromebook but with tweaked settings as the game isn’t compatible with Chromebook’s default settings and there are a few things to be considered when doing so. Here’s a detailed guide on how to get Minecraft on Chromebook and all other details that you should be aware of. Also, Read: What is the Curse of Binding in Minecraft?
How To Get Minecraft on Chromebook?
Here’s an account of all three versions of Chromebook that are in some shape or form available for playing on Chromebook.
Minecraft: Education Edition
Minecraft released the Education l Edition of the game after banning the Bedrock Edition on Chrome OS. The game is mainly referred to as to instill creativity and problem-solving skills in the students. The Minecraft: Education Edition is available for Chromebooks issued by schools to the students. The basic necessity here is that the particular Chromebook computer that you want to use for the game must have Android Apps enabled. Although Chromebook supports Android Apps (Linux apps support is coming too), it is solely based on the school administrator whether he/she grants the support or not. Once the support is granted, it is as easy as downloading the same.
How To Install Minecraft: Education Edition on Chromebooks?
Here’s how you can install the game on your Chromebook (issued by schools). Step 01: Ask the administrator to turn on Google Play Store support on your Chromebook. You can go to the Google Play Store » Settings » Google Play Store » Turn ON. Step 02: Once the access is approved, go to Google Play Store, search for Minecraft: Education Education, and install it on your Chromebook. Step 03: You can have 10 free logins and post that, a paid subscription is needed to access the game. You also need to log in using your school account. Also, Read: All You Need to Know About Curse Of Vanishing in Minecraft
Minecraft: Bedrock Edition
The Minecraft: Bedrock Edition has made quite a lot of headlines and it is the most popular Minecraft version with multi-platform support available for iOS and Google Play Store. Turns out Google officially pulled the plug on Bedrock Edition support in mid-2020. This means although you can still play Minecraft: Bedrock Edition on your Chromebook, you need to use Linux to do so. Here’s how you can do it and yes, it is a bit technical.
How To Install Minecraft: Bedrock Edition using Linux on Chromebook?
Since the Android apps support on Chromebook for Minecraft: Bedrock Edition has pulled away, you have to use Linux as a middleman to add a layer of compatibility for the game on Chromebook. Here’s how it is done. Step 01: You need to turn on Linux apps on Chromebook first so go to Settings on your Chromebook » Advanced » Developers and turn ON “Linux development environment (beta)”. Step 02: Open Linux Terminal on your Chromebook once the Linux is installed. Step 03: Run the command “sudo apt install flatpak” (Don’t use quotation marks wherever I have mentioned a command unless specified otherwise). Step 04: Enter the next command – and hit Enter. Step 05: Next command – Step 06: Go to Linux Apps on your Chrome (search it if you don’t know where it is) and launch “Bedrock Launcher”. Step 07: Sign in using Google Play and Microsoft account and it is done.
Minecraft: Java Edition
This is the most advanced version of Minecraft and requires hardware specifications to be top-notched. This means if you have a low-spec Chromebook, it might not run as smoothly or might not run at all. You need Linux to install the Java Edition. Also, Read: How to Find Buried Treasure in Minecraft (the Easy Way)
How To Install Minecraft: Java Edition on Chromebooks?
Step 01: Firstly, you have to enable Linux on your Chromebook. Go to Settings » Advanced » Developers » and Turn ON “Linux development environment (Beta)” and fire up Linux Terminal. Step 02: Enter the following command first – Step 03: Next up, you need to download Minecraft.deb for the Debian file from here and copy-paste it to the “Linux Files” folder. Step 04: Next, tap on the Minecraft.deb file twice to launch and install it. It will take a few minutes. This is the Minecraft Launcher that you just installed. Step 05: Next up, search for Minecraft Launcher on your Chromebook and launch it. Step 06: Launch the game, use Google/Microsoft sign-in as prompted and you have done it. Note: Here are a few settings that I recommend to be changed on Minecraft: Java Edition for smooth gameplay on Chromebooks.
First, go to Settings » Mouse Settings » change it to “Hyperspeed”.Use the command “chrome://flags/#exo-pointer-lock” on the Google Chrome URL bar and enable the “Pointer lock for Linux applications” and restart the PC and it is done.
Closing Phrases
Turns out all three versions of Minecraft are compatible with Chromebook under the aforementioned criteria and settings. There’s no standalone installation procedure and thus, you have to use these workarounds to play the near and dear game of millions of users out there. I would recommend trying the first two versions of Minecraft and keeping the third version for high-end PCs only but you can still get it if you want. Also, Read: Gaming in Linux: 5 Best Distributions for Linux Gaming
