Since introducing the Google Play Store to Chrome OS, hundreds of thousands have downloaded and played the massively popular game, ROBLOX.

The game even allows players to create video games for themselves! The developer market on Roblox is so large that the Roblox Corporation reported developer earnings of $110 million last year!

This year, with the pandemic locking millions of players down at home, that number is on pace to more than double!

With all of that said, can we develop for this lucrative market on a cheap Chromebook? Great question.

According to ROBLOX’s Developer site, you will need:

• A PC or Mac computer running at least Windows 7 or macOS 10.10.
• At least 1 GB of system memory.
• Internet access. This keeps the software up-to-date and lets you save projects to your ROBLOX account.

However, if we could get this on a Chromebook, with very low overhead costs to start up, you could easily begin a small gaming studio at home.

The first, and easiest method, would be to use a remote PC service, such as Parsec or Amazon WorkSpaces to run Windows or Mac over the Cloud.

But these kinds of services require a subscription and can be costly. Let’s see how we can put this development platform directly on your hands-on Chromebook device.

Before we begin, note that this will ONLY WORK ON INTEL 64-bit Processors. ARM processors, such as in the popular Lenovo Duet Chromebook, will NOT WORK.

First, you must enable Linux Apps on your Chromebook.

(If you’ve already installed Linux, skip to the 2nd step.)

1) Go to your settings and click on “Linux(Beta).”

2) Now, turn on Linux and make sure you give the container enough space to install Roblox Studio. At least 8 GB will be enough.

Next, let’s get the WINE layer installed.

This layer will allow your Linux terminal to run Windows apps. Even on a Chromebook!

Here are the necessary commands. These can be copy pasted line by line into the Linux Terminal.

1) sudo dpkg –add-architecture i386

2) sudo apt update

3) sudo apt install -y wine git python3-pip pkg-config libcairo2-dev libdbus-1-dev gtk-update-icon-cache desktop-file-utils xdg-utils libgirepository1.0-dev gir1.2-gtk-3.0

You’ve now added WINE and can install Windows apps.

Now, let’s grab the Grapejuice app.

Grapejuice is a launcher program that includes all of the libraries and dependencies that Roblox Studio will need.

Enter these commands into the terminal.

1) git clone https://gitlab.com/brinkervii/grapejuice.git

2) cd grapejuice

3) python3 ./install.py

Now all of the necessary architecture and repositories for Linux to run the program have been installed.

Finally, install ROBLOX Studio.

1) Once you’ve completed the step above, run Grapejuice.

2) Click on “Install ROBLOX” under the “Maintenance” tab.

3) Now, you can close Grapejuice and open your newly installed ROBLOX Studio.

4) It will have to go through some additional installation files. Close the installer once it’s done, and launch the program again.

5) Now, you can sign in with your ROBLOX Account. Make sure you have disabled any ad blockers or privacy extensions, otherwise you might not be able to sign in.

All done! You now have ROBLOX Studio on Chrome OS.

Most Linux-enabled Chromebooks will be able to follow this tutorial step by step, but only devices with beefier specs will be able to smoothly work in the program.

Premium Chromebooks with an Intel processor and 8 gigs of RAM should be able to handle this with flying colors. Just remember that even on a premium device, this program was officially only designed for Windows and Mac.

There you have it! With just a little bit of tinkering, we can install and run a game development platform on our Chromebooks that enables us to make a bit of money while doing so.

Chrome OS or Chromebook is great for putting amazing tools in the hands of everyone. Now, the only thing limiting you is your imagination.