Minecraft Java launcher won't work on Windows 8.1, says driver isn't compatible with OpenGL

I suggest you try these basic troubleshooting steps!

Open Settings, click Update and Security and then Windows Update;

Click Check for Updates;

Click the Download and Install Now option, if available;

Also, check the Microsoft Store for any updates on the Xbox apps and its services.

Then try this:

Go to windows settings > apps > search for gaming services app > click on it and select advanced options.

After that, click repair and then restore, open the app and try again.

Then do the same for the Xbox app:

Go to windows settings > apps > search for Xbox app > click on it and select advanced options.

After that, click repair and then restore, open the app and try again.

If it still doesn't work you're going to uninstall the games services using a powershell command, then you're going to open the gamepass app, it will ask you to download and install the game services again :

In the windows search bar type Powershell > Right click and select open as administrator > Type the command: "get-appxpackage Microsoft.GamingServices | remove-Appxpackage –allusers" > Wait for the process to finish and then restart the PC, then open your Xbox gamepass app, it will ask you to install the gaming services again, install it and try again.

you need to go to the manufacturer site and download the latest graphics drivers for your machine.

My system requirements:

RAM: 16.0 GB

Processor: Intel Core i7-8700

OS: Windows 8.1 Pro (but dual-booted with Windows 10)

File Size: 48.6 GB used

Hopefully this is good enough!

Hi there Eden welcome to the community forum! Christopher here, an Xbox fan just like you and has been on Xbox for years already. I would really love to make your day by helping you out. What are your specs? Here are the official specs for Minecraft, but some say 1.18 is a bit heavier.

Minecraft system requirements

Memory: 8 GB

Graphics Card: AMD Radeon R7 360

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690

File Size: 4 GB

OS: Windows 10

Minecraft minimum requirements

Memory: 2 GB

Graphics Card: Intel HD 4000

CPU: Intel Core i3-3210

File Size: 1 GB

OS: Windows 7 and up

I'd probably push to Windows 10; Windows 8.1 left Microsoft's Support Lifecycle in January this year, which means you'll find it will be getting left behind on a lot of software that leans on using web-based launchers, as Windows 7/8 and 8.1 stopped getting updates for things like Chrome, Microsoft Edge etc. in January.

Your issue of not being able to play games OpenGL games is likely to be driver issue. Windows 10 can automatically get a driver for the Intel HD 3000 through Windows update which should allow you to play OpenGL games.

From personal experience, I am able to play Minecraft on a 2011 MacBook Pro with a core i5 running Windows 10 that also has the Intel HD 3000, I'm not sure about much more demanding titles like Valorant as I haven't played those. But I can say that the OpenGL issues shouldn't be present.