How to Play Android Games on PC – 2017 Emulator Guide

Do you ever get tired of staring at your small phone screen while you’re trying to play your favourite Android games? Do you wish that you could play on a bigger screen?

Well, check out our guide showing how to play your favourite Android games on your PC.

There is a variety of methods and software programs available when it comes to Android gaming on your PC, so in this article, we’re going to explore 5 of the best Android emulators currently on the market.

1. BlueStacks

BlueStacks is probably one of the wider known Android emulators out there, it’s really easy to install and set up. Plus, as well as allowing you to install any APK file, it also has its own inbuilt app store so you can search for and install your favourite games. It is completely free to use, boasts a catalogue of over 1.5 million Android games, offers direct compatibility with twitch allowing you to stream any games you’re playing live, plus, you can also play any game in full screen.

2. Android Studio

Android Studio is another great alternative, however, this piece of software is a little more complex to use as its original purpose is for developing Android games themselves. So this is definitely one for any aspiring developers out there. Android Studio is the official app created by Google and is great for any developer wanting to test self-coded games or apps. Whilst it is possible to play any APK files on this, I personally would not recommend this method unless you are confident in learning to use this. Again, this piece of software is free to use!

3. Genymotion

Genymotion is another contender for the most popular Android emulator and is a definite great alternative to BlueStacks. It emulates over 40 different Android devices, allows you to access any version of Android that you might want and also allows for completely unlimited installations of apps. If your game or app uses a camera, this software allows you to use your webcam for this. This piece of software caters to both app users and app developers so you really do get the best of both worlds with it. In addition to the software, Genymotion also offers Genymotion on Demand, which allows you to access the Genymotion interface through a web browser. Unlike a lot of Android emulators, Genymotion is a paid piece of software and charges between 99 and 299 Euro (Approx $117-$354 USD) for a full year of use, however, you can get a trial version to see whether you feel the price is worth it.

4. Android X-86

Android X-86 is an open source project which aims to run the Android operating system with your PC processor, it is currently supported by AMD and Intel processors. The way Android X-86 words is that you install in onto your PC like you would with any other PC operating system like Windows, iOS for Mac or even Linux. So this basically turns your PC into one giant Android device. The community dedicated to this project aims to keep working to keep an up to date version of Android OS, its most recent release supporting Nougat. If you’re pretty tech savvy I’d definitely recommend giving this a try, otherwise, I’d probably stick to software that runs within your current OS rather than a complete OS overhaul. This is another completely free option, however, the developers of this do offer the option to make a donation to support the work they do.

5. Nox App Player

Nox App Player is another big name in Android emulators, it is supported by most newer versions of Windows and Mac systems and has a variety of great features which can really widen the Android experience; it allows you to root the software, allows you to check how much CPU your app or game is using (huge bonus for app developers!) and it also has a built in GPS option for apps and games that require your GPS, so this is really good for players of Pokemon Go. Also, it’s completely free to download!

In this day and age, there are a lot of different options when it comes to playing your Android games on PC, fortunately, a lot of them really work on widening the experience of Android gaming.

If you know of any other great Android emulators, please let us know in the comments!

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