The Game Awards 2021 was filled with many highlights about games on PC, consoles, and mobile. But there is a single product announcement that struck us most: the Google Play Games, where gamers will be able to play and download mobile games directly to their PC, coming next year, 2022.
According to an interview with The Verge, Google’s product director of games on Android and Google Play, Greg Hartrell says “Starting in 2022, players will be able to experience their favorite Google Play games on more devices: seamlessly switching between a phone, tablet, Chromebook, and soon, Windows PCs,”.
They also mentioned that Google builds their own app to make this possible, meaning they will not rely on other emulators like the Microsoft subsystem, Bluestacks, LD Player, etc. The new app will also allow gamers to resume their gameplay on any Android devices as long as there is Google Play installed. Sorry, Huawei users 🙁
While Microsoft is also bringing Android apps to Windows 11, which is basically allowing Windows users to install apps natively. Currently, that feature is still stuck on beta, and the only way to install app and games is through the Amazon Appstore, which also means not every apps are available compare to what Google Play offers. Though sideloading APK’s is possible through tricks, heavy games like Ragnarok X Next Generation still suffer from lag due to lack of GPU driver support. The other downside is you cannot install other emulators or Virtual Box due to conflicts with the Virtualization.
Meanwhile, Bluestacks are also moving forward with their new Android emulator that will work for browser through cloud, the BlueStacks X.
With this exciting news, playing mobile games is no longer a problem on PC. Plus the additional benefit of using any app on PC not just for games.