Microsoft releasing Minecraft on Chromebooks

San Francisco: Tech giant Microsoft is releasing an early access version of the "Minecraft: Bedrock Edition" game on Chromebooks.

The game features cross-device play with friends, access to Minecraft Marketplace and the ability to play on Realms, the company said in a Minecraft blogpost on Wednesday.

"While it won't be available for everyone to buy yet (the full release will come later) it marks an exciting step towards making Minecraft more accessible to even more people."

Early access means that in this first stage, only specific Chromebook devices which meet the minimum requirements will receive the option to purchase Minecraft.

So, users will have to check the Google Play Store to see if the game is available for them.

With the early access version, the company aims to test the game's performance before making it available to more players.

"Between now and the official launch date, we'll be working hard to make sure that Minecraft runs smoothly on Chromebook," the tech giant said.

"We don't have a confirmed release date for the full version of Minecraft for Chromebook yet, but once it's officially released, everyone with a compatible Chromebook will be able to download it from the Google Play Store," it added.