This App Lets You Play PC Games On Your Android Phone
Hadley Simons / Android Authority
tl; Dr.
- A new app called Winlator lets you play PC games on your Android phone.
- We have tested various games, but in our experience, only some of them are playable.
- We look forward to the next Cassia app which promises an improved experience.
We have seen several projects to run Windows and/or Windows games on Android phones. But between performance issues, general inconsistency, and a steep learning curve, there are plenty of obstacles along the way.
An app called Winlator was recently launched that promises to make testing Windows games on Android a little easier.
It should be noted that Winlator is a collection of existing programs and tools, enclosed in a convenient interface. These tools include Box (allows you to run x86 applications on ARM devices) and Wine (allows you to run Windows applications on Linux). Come to think of it, BoxWine would be a great name. In any case, the installation process and user interface are a significant improvement over similar solutions like Box4Droid that require the use of terminal commands.
Installing Winlator is quite easy if you install the app and then copy the provided file to a separate folder on your phone. From here, launch the program and configure the container (screen resolution selection, driver, etc.). The program also uses the Downloads folder by default, so you can put all your (legally purchased) games in one folder.
But is it worth using?
I've tried nine or ten computer games with varying degrees of success. Many of these games required resolution adjustments and/or driver adjustments, if they were to run at all. Most games didn't launch at all or even crashed before playing, although I'm sure settings can help in some cases.
In terms of games that actually ran, Deus Ex ran smoothly for the most part, Hitman 2 offered variable but playable framerates, and Undertale was mostly playable but veered into performance territory of slipping ever. I was also able to run the Far Cry 2 demo (albeit as a teenager) before the game crashed a few minutes later. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time was released despite severe graphical glitches during gameplay. Some users also report the success of games like Trackmania Nations Forever and Gothic.
Winlator is easy to set up and use, but its performance and compatibility are not up to par.
However, it's clear that if you're looking for the most wanted PC games released in the last decade, you shouldn't get your hopes up too high. So don't even think about installing Cyberpunk 2077, The Witcher 3 or Control through this app.
To make matters worse, Winlator, like other Android utilities for that matter (like Box4Droid), doesn't work well with the latest Snapdragon chips (like Snapdragon chips with Adreno 7xx GPUs). If you have one, you can retire your old main phone instead.
Are there other solutions?
However, this is not the last time we hear about a PC Android gaming app. Two developers of the now-defunct Skyline emulator are working on the free Cassia app. It allows users to play Windows games (DirectX8 and above) on their smartphones, promising to overcome current issues. So if you want a better experience, or just don't want to install an unknown app from Github, it's worth waiting for that app to be released in the as-yet-to-be-determined future.
It should also be noted that some older PC games have also received official Android ports or releases on consoles like the PS2 and GameCube. Thus, you can buy these games officially or run them on Android through emulators.
Finally, Steam Link is available for streaming PC games at home, while GeForce Now offers full game streaming. Therefore, it is worth trying these options.
