I have linked it in the global search, but when i press PLAY button, nothing happens even tho desktop shortcut works.

:(

That's weird, the minecraft launcher(and the game itself) starts up fine for me... It's a random suggestion, but maybe you could try removing it from the library and adding it again?

It doesn't launch for me manually either. With the new update you can add an integration that automatically detects your install and does work.

Anyone know why this game is finicky about having a normal shortcut?

Maybe it's a good idea to create an issue via the "cog-menu", as this appears to be a user specific problem ?

It worked for me using the shortcut that the official Installer placed in the start menu and by linking the "MinecraftLauncher.exe" found in the Minecraft Launcher directory