James Livesey
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Reported
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Eventually I decided to just not go through the Google Play method, and instead installed the unofficial Bedrock launcher for Linux onto my Crostini container.
If Mojang won't let us install Bedrock through the Play store, we have to seek alternatives that they might not like ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Just like you, I'm really hoping for this issue to develop! I really want to play Minecraft on my Pixelbook.
QUESTION
Hello! Seeing that MCPE runs well on the Pixelbook (from what I can see with the newest version available to the Pixelbook), surely you could just whitelist the Pixelbook as a compatible device in the Google Play Console and not other Chrome OS devices?
BACKGROUND
Having looked at the Google Play Console, it appears to me that it's possible for app developers to whitelist just some models of existing devices, so in this case you could switch off all Chromebooks except for ones that support touchscreens eg. the Pixelbook and Pixel Slate (which both have a touchscreen which is as functional as what you'd get on an iPad Pro).
Even if the Pixelbook and Pixel Slate were the only ones with support I'm sure that it would make the situation better as it would encourage users of those devices to buy the game from the Google Play Store instead of switching their device to dev mode (which could prove a security risk just to play Minecraft) and downloading an APK from a dodgy mirror (which would count as piracy and wouldn't pay you guys)!1
I am desperately wishing for you guys to just toggle that one little switch that allows me and my friends to have fun together ─ honestly, it's the only game we play ─ and it's a real shame when one of us can't play. Having switched from the Surface Pro 4 to a brand-new Pixelbook as my go-everywhere computer, this is the only thing that I really wish I could have with me.2 Please toggle that one switch I'm begging you lol
1 I haven't done that, just for the record; and I won't be due to the fact that I don't want my Pixelbook wiped!
2 I've got Linux, so that's good for PC-like apps, but it can't play at the capacity of the Java edition yet due to lack of HW acceleration and besides, it's not part of the Better Together line.
TL;DR
By just toggling on support for the Pixelbook computers in the Google Play Console, Minecraft could be accessed and enjoyed by thousands of Pixelbook users ─ in fact it allows said users to play with their friends and family and be Better Together!
In the end, I was fed up with the lack of care that Mojang were giving towards this issue, so I just installed the unofficial Bedrock client for Linux into a Crostini container on my Chromebook.
How else am I meant to play Minecraft? Buy a whole Windows 10 computer just for one game?! No, I'd rather go through a route that Microsoft doesn't ideally want me to go through...