So, you want to play Rules of Survival on your Chromebook.
Well, you’ve come to the right place.
By popular demand, I’ve written this guide because a few of you asked for a way to play RoS on your Chromebook. It’s possible.
But it requires some minor tweaking and a very “sophisticated” setup in order to get the game running (that was sarcasm, by the way).
Either way, if you’re just itching to be the last player standing out of the 120, let’s get started already!
Last updated 2/26/23. This still works in 2023. If you find a bug or have any questions, post a comment and I’ll get back to you.
Some things you should know before getting started
(If you just want to just dive right into the tutorial, feel free to skip this section.)
It’s important to know that Rules of Survival is built for mobile from the ground up. Specifically, it was designed just for Android platforms on Google Play.
This means that it was never designed for play on Chrome OS, so getting this to work on your Chromebook isn’t guaranteed. Some people will get the game running while others won’t.
This process will require some basic technical knowledge (like installing apps, adjusting settings, using remote access, etc.).
But if you’re not that tech-savvy, it’s okay.
I’ve written this guide step-by-step so that even a newbie will be able to follow it! It’s just easier if you have some knowledge of computers in general. It’ll be a lot simpler to follow.
If you get stuck at any part, feel free to leave a comment and I’ll get back to you ASAP =].
As of now, this game has trailed off in popularity but it still has a decent amount of players on it. Perhaps you’d like to try out Unturned instead?
There are only two ways to play Rules of Survival on a Chromebook
Because RoS was built for Android, there are only two ways I can think of to get the game running on Chrome OS.
Rules of Survival does have a PC version available, so they’re slowly porting out to other platforms besides Android.
The first method is to wait for the developer, NetEase, to integrate the game with Chrome OS. As you probably know by now, select Chromebooks can run Google Play Store apps.
If your Chromebook was made in 2017 or newer, you already have access to Play Store apps. If it’s older, you may be in the queue to receive the Play Store update some time in the future.
Update: In 2020, the majority of newer models will already have the Play Store built-in. So if you’re reading this and you have a newer device, you should be able to get the game without any problems.
But if you’re using a school or work device, the Play Store may be disabled. Sadly, there’s no way around this lockup unless you get permission from the IT team.
It may be compatible with Chrome OS in the near future
As of now, Rules of Survival isn’t compatible with Chromebooks yet.
But many developers are making their Play Store apps able to run on Chrome OS. Running Play Store apps on a Chromebook is still a new feature and is still in beta.
As developers improve their apps and Google improves Chrome OS, there may be integration for running RoS on Chrome OS. The only problem is that you’ll have to wait for it to roll out.
You can reference this table to see if your specific model will be getting the update and when.
If you don’t want to wait for the Play Store update to roll out to your device, you can always force the update.
Perhaps one day they’ll have a version that runs with Chrome OS via the Google Play Store. And with this version, you can easily install and play it from the Play Store. Chromebooks already have integration with many popular games- like Roblox, for example.
That would be quite ideal.
We’ll have to use a workaround
But for now, the only way to play RoS on a Chromebook is to use a pretty complex setup that involves a few different programs.
And that’s what we’ll be attempting to do in this tutorial.
System requirements to run Rules of Survival
Rules of Survival is a mobile game and doesn’t require too much processing power to run.
The majority of Chromebooks should have no issue running the game. I’d suggest at least 4GB of RAM and an Intel Celeron Quad Core CPU.
If you have an i3, i5, or m3 CPU, that’d be perfect.
I got the game running on my old Acer CB3-131 (2GB RAM/Intel Celeron) Chromebook and it ran okay. There were some major lag spikes during combat with lots of players though.
But if you have a newer Chromebook, you should have no problem running the game smoothly.
(Thinking about upgrading? Check out this buyer’s guide to the best new Chromebooks.)
What matters more is your Internet connection speed. If you have a slow connection, this method won’t work optimally and may even render your game unplayable.
This process requires that you have a Windows PC connected to the Internet. You’ll need a fast connection speed for this PC in order to get this working.
And you’ll need a fast connection to your Chromebook as well.
If you’re confusing about why you need a PC, keep reading. Sadly, this is the only working method so far.
What we’ll be doing
Here’s a brief overview of the whole entire setup and exactly what you’ll need.
As you know by now, Chromebooks can’t run Rules of Survival by default.
To get around this, we’ll be doing the following things to get it working:
On the PC:
- Install Bluestacks
- Install Rules of Survival
- Install Chrome Remote Desktop extension
- Set up Chrome Remote Desktop
On the Chromebook:
- Install Chrome Remote Desktop extension
- Set up Chrome Remote Desktop
- Play the game!
Doing this will require that you have an active PC running Windows.
It’s basically remote accessing your Windows computer from your Chromebook in order to “mirror” the game to it.
Since Chrome OS can’t run it by default but Windows can, you’ll be using your PC to run the game and playing it through your Chromebook.
It’ll have to be on at the same time you’re playing the game. This means whenever you want to play RoS using your Chromebook, you’ll have to have your Windows PC on and running the game.
If you plan to play the game at school, work, or in public, all you need to do is have your computer at home (or wherever) on and connected to the Internet. That’s pretty much all you need to play Rules of Survival on your Chromebook anywhere in the world!
Sure, it’s pretty lame that your PC needs to be on, but it’s the only way to get this working for now. If there’s a better technique that comes out later, I’ll update this guide (feel free to subscribe for email updates!).
How to play Rules of Survival on Chromebook
Okay, so here’s the actual tutorial.
If you’re a hardcore fan of the game, give it a try even if it doesn’t work. At least you tried and learn a thing or two. And if you do get it working, you’ll be able to camp, crawl, loot, and clutch some RoS!
This tutorial comes in two sections.
This first section applies to your Windows PC, so fire it up and let’s roll.
Part I – Setting up your PC
Step 1: Install Bluestacks on your PC
If you’ve never heard of Bluestacks, it’s pretty much a free emulator for Windows that lets you run Android apps from the Play Store. The reason we need this is because Rules of Survival is an Android game and the only way to get it on a Windows PC is through an emulator.
Turn on your PC and download Bluestacks. You can get it here.
Some random side-notes: Chrome OS doesn’t have any Android emulator other than the Google Play update, which is basically an emulator app itself to run Android apps on Chrome OS.
But like I said earlier, RoS isn’t available yet for Chromebooks so we have to work around it. If it was, we wouldn’t have to do this workaround.
As another side note, if there was an Android emulator for Linux, we could also skip the whole PC thing entirely and just emulate straight from the Chromebook using Linux. But sadly, there isn’t one that works well and is free to use.
So that’s two bumps in the road. And that’s why we have to use this outlandish technique- but hey, if you want to play RoS bad enough, it’s worth it!
Step 2: Install Bluestacks
After you download it, go ahead and install it. Just follow the on-screen prompts and it should complete within a few minutes.
You can also watch this instructional video that goes over how to install and use Bluestacks:
Step 3: Get Chrome Remote Desktop
Launch the Chrome Browser and install the Chrome Remote Desktop extension.
You can either go to the Chrome Web Store and search for “chrome remote desktop” or you can just download it directly here.
If you don’t have the Chrome Browser, you’ll need it in order to get this working. You can download Chrome here.
Step 4: Set up the remote connection
After the extension is installed, go ahead and launch it.
You’ll want to set up a connection to your Chromebook. The process involves you connecting to your laptop and setting up a secret key. It should be pretty straightforward just by using the on-screen prompts.
If you need step-by-step instructions, I wrote a guide on setting up a remote connection you may want to check out.
Step 5: Download and Install Rules of Survival
This is the final step on your PC. You’re pretty much half way there!
Download and install RoS from the official site.
Go there and click on “Try the PC Version” to download the game, or you can click here to download it directly.
After it’s done installing, just let it idle and switch on over to your Chromebook. Or play a few games on your computer to take a break- the choice is yours.
Part II – Setting up your Chromebook
Step 6: Get the Chrome Remote Desktop extension for your Chromebook
Follow the same process as before when you installed it on your PC.
Launch Chrome on your Chromebook and go to the Chrome Web Store and search for it.
Or you can install it directly from here.
Step 7: Set up the remote connection from your Chromebook to your PC
On your Chromebook, launch the extension and complete the setup using the secret code you created earlier on your PC.
It should be fairly easy and straightforward. If you need help, you can refer to this tutorial.
Step 8: Play Rules of Survival on your Chromebook
This is the best (and most fun) step.
After you’ve completed setting up the remote connection to your PC, you’ll see your PC’s desktop directly mirrored on your Chromebook. This is what’s called a remote connection (if you’ve never done or heard of this before).
Go ahead and launch Rules of Survival from PC by using your Chromebook’s remote connection. The game will start and you’ll be on the battlefield! Congrats.
You can play pretty much anything with a remote connection
You can completely control your Windows PC from your Chromebook by using your Chromebook keyboard and touchpad.
Access files, launch native Windows programs, launch Steam (although you can install Steam directly on your Chromebook), explore blocky worlds in Minecraft, grind it out on RuneScape, raid some epic bosses in World of Warcraft, and of course, play Rules of Survival!
Depending on your connection speeds, your gameplay experience may be awesome or it may lag like crazy. Remember, both the connection from your Windows computer to the Internet and the WiFi connection to your Chromebook both matter.
The cool part is that now you can play RoS on your Chromebook anywhere. You can be at school, work, or out at the mall and easily connect to your computer and launch the game. And all you need is a WiFi connection. Isn’t that awesome?
You can even connect to your phone using a mobile hotspot so you can literally play anywhere!
(If you want to be specific, you’ll need for your computer to be turned on and connected to the Internet as well. But that’s a given.)
Are you playing some RoS yet?
That’s about it!
As of now, this is the easiest way to play Rules of Survival on a Chromebook. If new discoveries are found, I’ll update this guide.
Eventually, I expect the game to be compatible with Chrome OS straight from the Play Store. But until then, we’ll have to use outlandish methods like this in order to play it.
But with RoS being such an addicting survival game (and also free to play), it’s worth it. It’s like the Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds or Fortnite for the mobile world.
In fact, it’s the world’s most popular mobile survival game in existence!
If you get stuck or have any questions, leave a comment and I’ll get back to you.
And if you’ve found this guide to be helpful, let me know as well.
Consider telling a buddy and you two can play squads and own the entire map- on your Chromebooks =].
Thanks for reading.
U dont need bluestacks. The game has a PC version available as well XD.
if i want to play it on chromebook, THAT MEANS I DONTHAVE PC. WHY WOULD I PLAY ON CHROMEBOOK IF I HAVE A PC
Hey csama,
Yeah, I know it’s kinda awkward and weird to think about.
However, some readers wanted to play it on-the-go and needed a portable solution (their Chromebook) besides playing it on a PC. So the next best thing after playing it on the PC is to mirror it to a Chromebook. That’s the best solution and easiest way to get it set up if it’s gotta be RoS and it’s gotta be on a Chromebook.
As for playing it straight on the Chromebook, I’m working on a solution for that too. It’s just a lot more complicated. I’ll update this guide when it’s done.
Thanks.
this game is cool