Guide: How To Play Android Games on Your Windows PC

Mobile games are often designed to be played on smartphones and tablets, but there’s always the issue of available space. Once you run out of space, downloading new games or updating existing ones becomes impossible. However, there’s still another way to play Android games on PC.

I’m no mobile gamer, but I do know you can download Android emulators on your PC and enjoy the best of both worlds. The best part is these apps are entirely free and legal to use. Keep on reading to learn about the steps.

Play Android Games Using Android Emulators

Android emulators let Windows or Mac users simulate the Android operating system on a PC. Once you install and run one, you can immediately download and play your favorite games once they’re ready. There are several advantages to doing so, and we’ll cover them later.

Playing Android games on your PC is simple. Though the exact steps may differ depending on the emulator, you can follow these general instructions.

1. Download and install your Android emulator of choice.
2. Click on the Google Play Store and sign in.
3. Get the game you want to download.
4. Install the game and launch it.
5. You may have to wait for some games to update.
6. Once the game has finished updating, you can log in and start playing.

Check out the three best emulators below.

BlueStacks

BlueStacks is the most popular app for playing Android games on your PC. If your computer has an Intel or AMD processor, 4GB of RAM, 5GB of space, and runs on Windows 7 or macOS, you can play mobile games without performance issues. BlueStacks currently comes in two main versions, BlueStacks 4 and 5. The latter still hasn’t received macOS support, but you can still play Android games if you download the older build. There’s also an Android 11 version if you want to play some of the latest games.

Android phones are limited by screen size and hardware, making running multiple titles simultaneously difficult. With BlueStacks, you can run multiple instances smoothly, each loading a different game. The app also makes swapping between instances convenient.

While most users play games on BlueStacks using a mouse and keyboard, you can easily connect an Xbox One, PS5, Nintendo Pro Controller, or any other gamepad. Games like Minecraft and Genshin Impact already support controllers on mobile. You aren’t forced to use a mouse and keyboard with BlueStacks. Additionally, you can customize the control scheme to suit your preferences.

BlueStacks also has a real-time translation feature for games that aren’t natively in English. If you play these games and wish to understand the content, the translation feature will help immensely.

These and many other features help BlueStacks establish itself as the best way to play Android games on your computer. I highly recommend it as it has advanced settings, but most users can get by without using them.

MEmu

Another Android emulator you can try is MEmu. The minimum requirements are similar to BlueStacks’, but if your computer is a 32-bit model, you can get by with only 2GB of RAM. Otherwise, you should have an Intel or AMD CPU and 5GB of space, and you should activate Hardware Virtualization on your computer. MEmu is only available on Windows natively, but there’s a workaround to make it run on Mac.

What sets MEmu apart from many competitors is its control customization. The emulator uses smart mapping to understand what’s happening when playing games. When you press certain buttons, MEmu ensures you only perform your desired actions, including casting skills or attacking. Smart mapping is available only for several titles, mostly first-person shooter games like Call of Duty and PUBG.

Some games require repetitive actions, and MEmu can help you save time. MEmu can record your keystrokes and mouse clicks. After that, you can ensure the script runs in set intervals or repeats infinitely. There’s no need to bore yourself repeating the same actions when MEmu can do it for you.

MEmu is geared toward gamers, and you can tell by the in-depth control customization and easy script setup. Though it’s not the fastest emulator available, it remains an excellent choice if you need a gaming-focused one.

NoxPlayer

NoxPlayer is similar to BlueStacks and MEmu, sharing features like script recording and running multiple instances. Even though the system requirements are similar, you can have as little as 1.5GB of RAM for a single instance of NoxPlayer. Of course, most computers today come with more than 4GB of RAM, the recommended minimum.

Where NoxPlayer differs from the others is the Android 12 version. Most Android emulators offer Android 9 or lower, but NoxPlayer’s Android 12 client is unique. The company claims you use much less RAM and can expect higher framerates while gaming. Additionally, some new features like split screen and background loading are available.

You don’t need to get the Android 12 version as most games can run on Android 9 or 7, but some of the latest titles require newer versions of Android.

NoxPlayer lets you replicate your actions on one instance on others. If you’re playing one game but wish to operate multiple accounts at once, NoxPlayer lets you do that.

Play Android Games Using Amazon Appstore on Windows 11

Amazon Appstore is an alternative way to play Android games on a Windows 11 computer. Besides having a valid Amazon account and Windows 11 installed on your PC, here are some requirements.

• A solid-state drive (SSD)
• Microsoft Store App Build 22000.526 or higher
• At least 8GB of memory, but 16GB is better
• Intel Core i3 8th Gen, AMD Ryzen 3000, Qualcomm Snapdragon processors or better

Assuming you meet these requirements, you can follow the steps below for the first part, which will guide you to enable virtualization.

1. Check if you meet the requirements above.
2. Search for “Turn Windows Features On or Off” in the start menu and select it.
3. Open Windows Features and check “Virtual Machine Platform.”
4. Click “OK” and restart your PC.

You can skip to the next section if you’ve already enabled virtualization.

1. Open the Amazon Appstore page.
2. Click “Install” and “Install” again.
3. Download the app and launch it after it’s ready.
4. Log in with your Amazon account or create a new one.
5. Search for any available games on the Amazon Appstore.
6. Click “Get,” “Download,” and “Download” again.
7. After the apps finish installing, you can find them on the Amazon Appstore app or your Start menu.
8. Enjoy your Android games.

Amazon Appstore is only supported in a small list of countries and regions. We recommend using the Android emulators, which are not region-locked and offer extra features.

Why Play Android Games on PC?

Smartphones and tablets run out of battery or memory, and charging your device while playing is fine but may not be convenient for some. Some games today are large and take up lots of memory, even if they’re mobile versions. Using an Android emulator eliminates these issues entirely.

If your gaming PC or laptop is packing some powerful hardware, you can also increase the graphics settings on Android games that let you change them. Computer GPUs are much stronger than the ones on mobile devices, so achieving a high resolution and framerate becomes much easier.

Conclusion

Installing an Android emulator is the best way to play Android games on your PC. These apps are free to download and can also run on older PCs. Most Android emulators have similar features and functions, so I recommend choosing the one you like most. If you live in a supported region, you can also play Android games on a Windows 11 PC by installing the Amazon Appstore.