Microsoft Begins Testing ‘Minecraft’ for Chromebooks with Free Trial

Chromebooks are capable of running Android apps and games. But Microsoft has always prevented Minecraft: Bedrock Edition from running on Chrome OS—this may change in 2023, as Microsoft is now offering a free “trial” version of Minecraft for Chromebooks.

This trial is available in select regions (excluding the U.S. and UK) and allows you to play Minecraft: Bedrock Edition on your Chromebook. That said, users only have 90 minutes to build a “trial” world. After 90 minutes, your world is deleted, and you must start from scratch. Games are limited to Survival mode and do not support achievements, multiplayer, servers, or other online features.

Minecraft Trial is a free trial version of Minecraft that provides a time-limited, survival-only experience for players. The Minecraft Trial for Chromebook is a version of the trial app that aims to capture platform-specific data for bug fixes and technical troubleshooting.

It’s an awkward idea, obviously. But Microsoft says that this trial will help it locate and patch bugs. Presumably, the company wants to avoid any problems that may impact players’ worlds in an official release. (By the way, this is the Android version of Minecraft.)

Microsoft previously prevented Chromebooks from installing the Minecraft Bedrock app. We’re not sure why the company neglected this platform, as Chromebooks are incredibly common in schools and are often marketed as affordable starter laptops for children. (To be fair, Minecraft: Education launched for Chrome OS in 2020.)

Chromebook owners can test the Minecraft app today for free. Simply open the Play Store, find Minecraft Trial, and install it on your machine. Note that this trial is only offered in India, Australia, Brazil, the UAE, Germany, Denmark, Spain, France, Indonesia, Korea, Kuwait, Mexico, Malaysia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, and Turkey—if you’re in the United States or United Kingdom, you’ll need to wait or find a workaround with a VPN.