Minecraft is one of the most popular video games of all time. It has more than 200 million copies sold across all platforms, and it comes with an infinite number of possibilities for creating your own worlds and playing with others online.
The game is available on almost every platform including PC, Mac, Linux, Xbox 360 and Xbox One, Playstation 3 and 4, and even iOS and Android devices.
Unfortunately, if you want to install and play Minecraft on a Chromebook, you’ll find that it won’t run. This is because Chromebooks use an operating system called Chrome OS, which is basically a web browser that’s not optimized for gaming.
But don’t worry – there’s still hope! With the right tweaks and tricks, you can get this game up and running on your Chrome laptop in no time at all.
In this post, I’ll walk you through everything you need to know about getting Minecraft installed on your Chromebook so that you can start playing today.
Let’s dive right in.
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How to Get Minecraft On Chromebook?
There are a couple of ways you can get Minecraft running on your Chromebook.
- The easiest way to do it is by rooting your device and installing Linux on it.
- Another way to play the game on your laptop is by using an Android emulator like PojavLauncher (or just “Pojav”).
- You can also download Minecraft Education Edition on your Chromebook, which is an official version of the game aimed at teachers and students.
- Finally, you can play Classic Minecraft’s web version in your browser, which is free and doesn’t require any downloads.
I’ll explain each method below and show you how to set up each one with step-by-step instructions.
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1. Enable Linux on your Chromebook and download Minecraft: Java Edition
Linux is an operating system that gives you more control over your computer than other operating systems like Windows or iOS. It lets you install programs that aren’t normally allowed on Chrome OS and customize your settings.
The best part is that once it’s installed, Minecraft will think you’re playing from a computer with a Linux OS, so you can run the game smoothly on your Chromebook!
You can also try this method on school-issued Chromebooks, but administrators can block this feature. If you encounter this issue, ask your administrator for help.
Now, if you don’t have much experience with Linux, installing it might seem intimidating, but it’s actually pretty simple.
To do it, follow these steps:
- Open up your Chromebook Settings and head over to the “Advanced” menu.
- Next, click on “Developers”.
- You’ll then see a “Linux development environment (Beta)” option. Select “Turn on”
- This will open a Linux setup window where you’ll have to enter a username to start installing it. This can take anywhere from five minutes to two hours.
- Once the installation process it’s done, a terminal window will pop up. You can also access Linux’s terminal from your device’s App Drawer – just go to the Apps tab > Linux Apps > Terminal.
- To make sure you have the latest version of Linux, run the following command on the terminal: “sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade -y”
- After that, navigate to Minecraft’s official website and download the Minecraft.deb file for Debian/Ubuntu platforms.
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- Go to your Chromebook storage section and save the Minecraft.deb file into the Linux folder.
- Then, double-click on the file and hit “Install”. This will start Minecraft’s installation in Linux’s virtual machine.
- After that, head over to the Apps tab > Linux folder, and click on Minecraft’s launcher icon.
- Now, you’ll just need to log into your Minecraft account to launch the game and start playing!
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2. Install Minecraft using the PojavLauncher emulator
If your Chromebook uses an ARM processor, installing Linux isn’t the best option. This is because ARM chips don’t have the same architecture as Intel and AMD processors (the x86 architecture), which is what most operating systems and games are built for.
So if this is your case, you’ll need to download an emulator called PojavLauncher. Once you have PojavLauncher installed, you can use the application to install the Android version of Minecraft onto your Chromebook without exiting the Chrome OS interface.
To get started with this method, follow the following steps:
- Click on the bottom right corner of your Chromebook screen to access your device’s Settings.
- Then, tap on “Apps”, look for the Google Play Store icon, and select “Turn on”.
- Use the taskbar to open the Play Store and search for PojavLauncher, or click here to go directly to the download page. Select the green “Install” button when you are ready to continue.
- Once the app is installed, click on “Open” to launch it. You’ll then be prompted to grant it storage permission – hit “Allow”.
- After that, PojavLauncher will start downloading and installing the files it needs to run Minecraft. This will only take a few minutes.
- When it’s done, you’ll see the game’s login screen. Just enter your Minecraft account and you’ll be able to start playing right away.
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3. Download Minecraft: Education Edition from the App Store
Minecraft: Education Edition was launched in September 2022. It is an educational version of Minecraft made specifically for teachers who want to offer interactive lessons to their students while allowing them to mine, build, craft items with friends, and more.
This game is free to download from the Google Play Store, but it’s not available on every device in the Chrome OS family.
If you’re hoping to play this version of the game on your device, you’ll need to make sure that your Chromebook model supports Android apps. You’ll also need to have a school email account.
To download and install Minecraft: Education Edition
- First, access the Settings page of your device, click on the Apps section, and enable Google Play Store. To do this, simply press the “Turn on” button.
- Next, head over to the Play Store app and search for Minecraft: Education Edition, or click here to go directly to the download page. Then, select “Install” and wait a few seconds.
- Once the game is installed, click “Open” and log in with your school account. That’s it!
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4. Play Minecraft’s web version on Chromebook
Another way of accessing Minecraft from a Chromebook device is by navigating to Classic Minecraft’s official website.
The most notable omission is that you will have a limit of blocks to build with — only 32. Also, the interface has an old look.
However, it is the perfect version for the fans of the computer version of Minecraft that was released in 2009.
In addition, it can be played with hardly any bugs or glitches on Chromebook, and it even has a multiplayer option where you can invite up to nine people.
To play this game on your device:
- First, go to classic.minecraft.net from your Chrome browser or click here. The page will automatically generate your game.
- After a few seconds, you will see the login screen. Choose your username or copy the link to share and play with your friends!
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Bonus: How to Play Minecraft on Chrome OS Smoothly?
Although there are many ways to get access to Minecraft on your Chromebook, this device isn’t as powerful as the average laptop or desktop computer.
As a result, you may notice how sometimes the game lags or crashes completely when you try to play it.
Luckily, there are some easy fixes that can help you get your game running smoothly again. Here are some tips:
- Make sure that your Chromebook has at least 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage space. The more RAM and storage space it has, the smoother it will run Minecraft.
- Ensure that you’re not running any other applications in the background. You can check this by going to the “Task Manager” section.
This will show you all of the programs running on your Chromebook at the moment and how much space each one is taking up. If there’s no space left, restart your computer and close out some of those programs until there’s room for Minecraft.
- Always check that your device has an updated version of Chrome OS installed. You can do this by going into Settings > Systems > Check for Updates.
- Some settings in-game will have a significant effect on your performance – textures, particularly, can make your game look pretty bad if they’re set too high for your computer to handle.
To avoid this, open “Options” on Minecraft and tweak your Graphic and Video setting until things are running smoothly again.
- Download an app called Crouton. It allows you to run Linux alongside Chrome OS, which means that you can install different operating systems on your computer without having to change any settings or reformat anything
- Make sure that your Chromebook has a good graphics card chip. For example, an Intel HD Graphics 515 or an NVIDIA GeForce 940MX.
- Also, check your graphics card drivers are up-to-date. If they’re not up-to-date, this could cause issues with Minecraft performance on Chromebooks.
You can update these drivers by visiting your manufacturer’s website (e.g., Intel or AMD) and downloading them directly from there.
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Wrap Up
While Chromebook doesn’t natively support Minecraft, there are many ways you can run it on your laptop.
All the methods I mentioned above work with most versions of Chromebooks, so if you’re using an older model, they will still work just fine. Plus, they’re simple and straightforward; you don’t need any advanced technical knowledge to use them.
However, if you’re not familiar with how to use your device’s settings, you’ll find some of them a little time-consuming. If that’s your case, I recommend following this tutorial closely and taking your time as you move through each step.