Minecraft is officially coming to Chromebooks with a $13 upcharge over Android

Ben Schoon | Mar 15 2023 - 11:19 am PT

After years of demand, Minecraft is finally coming to Chromebooks with the “Bedrock Edition” available in early access starting today, but you’ll need to fork over a bit more to get access.

Launching today on limited Chromebook models, Minecraft “Bedrock Edition” for Chromebooks is an Android app built off of mobile app, which has been available for years now.

It retains all of the same gameplay Minecraft players have come to know and love, and even includes cross-play with other platforms. The recently-released “Trails and Tails” update will also be available to Chromebook owners when the full game is released.

In the meantime, this early access version of Minecraft for Chromebooks will support machines that meet minimum requirements. The early access period is apparently being released to help the developers find bugs and make tweaks based on player feedback.

The minimum requirements for Minecraft on Chromebooks are as follows:

ChromeOS 111 (64-bit)
Intel Celeron N4500, Intel i3-7130U, Mediatek MT8183, Qualcomm SC7180 or better
4GB RAM or more
Minimum of 1GB game installation, maps, and other files

Players will also need a Microsoft account, and be willing to start from scratch. There’s apparently no way to port worlds over from other platforms.

Interestingly, and unlike most Android apps on ChromeOS, Minecraft will require a separate purchase for the platform. You’ll only be able to do this from your Chromebook, assuming it meets the required specs, and costs roughly twice as much as the Android version which runs $6.99. Players who don’t own the Android version already will need to pay $20 for the two licenses, while those who already own Minecraft on Android can get the Chromebook upgrade for $13.

Even with a higher price tag in tow, it’s great to see that, finally, one of the world’s most popular games is coming to Chromebooks. No more hacky workarounds needed. Just a simple install.

There’s no timeline provided for when Minecraft for Chromebooks will see its full release.