Quick Tip: Playing Games That Use A Web Browser and The Cataclysmic Chrome Conundrum [Workaround]

Just a quick tip for those playing Browser-based games and other Online games which require a Web Browser to run or authenticate [such as recent Battlefield series games, or browser-based online game websites], where you've probably seen the message that Google's Chrome will no longer support NPAPI plugins - and are wondering what this means:


Without getting into the 1) nitty 2) gritty 3) details, the end result is that games which use a web browser (running a game inside it, or just using it to Authenticate and then Launch a game) will no longer be able to run in Chrome [hence the message being seen]. It actually involves programs that the browser uses to do these things and Support for these is being dropped by Chrome.

There is a workaround that you can do for the next few months, if you want to use Chrome to play/launch the games affected by this, which is fairly easy:

• Open Chrome and type or copy/paste this into the Address Bar:
  chrome://flags/#enable-npapi 
• Then simply click Enable, to allow these Plugins [for now]

That's it!

Here is an image by Google on what this looks like:

Alternatively, you could just use IE (Internet Explorer), which is most likely already installed (if you are using Windows). It will run all of these gaming functions perfectly.

[I have personally tested some online browser-based gaming sites, such as Pogo.com (which has Java games), and have launched games with it, such as Battlefield Play4Free and Battlefield: Hardline - I just copy/paste the URL from Chrome into the Address Bar for IE and then IE launches the games without any problem and without any configuration or adjusting of permissions or settings anywhere]

As long as you have Windows Updates on (which it usually has running by Default), it will automatically keep IE up to date, which makes sure it will have the latest Security Patches and Updates, so that you don't have to worry about anything unwanted happening with IE - especially if all you are doing is launching a game with it.

Remember, later this year, Chrome Version 45 will come out, and you will have to use something other than Chrome anyway [because this workaround may no longer...work]. It's up to you of course, I know there are people out there who "really hate IE" - and for those people I say: just use it to launch games for now, and noone will judge you /wink


See You In The Games!