Android on Windows: the best emulator for games

Do you want to play your favorite Android games on your PC? Can you run and use Android apps on your PC even if you don’t have an Android device? Thanks to Android emulators, it’s easier than you think.

Microsoft recently announced the end of built-in Android emulation on Windows. The company has announced the retirement of Windows Subsystem for Android, which provides a comfortable option for running Android games and apps on Windows.

Once this is gone, users will have to consider other options for running Android apps and games on their devices.

Best Android emulator for gaming

Windows users have a wealth of Android emulators to choose from, especially when it comes to gaming. From Google’s official Google Play games for PC to established emulators. Some offer a wide range of features and options, while others are clearly lacking in some areas.

blue stacks

Minimum system requirements:

• Operating system: Windows 7 or later
• RAM: 4GB
• Hard drive: 5GB
• Processor: Intel or AMD
• Other: Windows administrator account

BlueStacks is an Android emulator for Windows PCs. Provides authentic emulation of Android on PC.

You can log in to Google Play with your Google Account and install Google Play Games. With Google Play support, you can access all the games in the marketplace.

You can also access games from the BlueStacks store. There are many exclusive games here. All games are free, and some include free access to paid content.

In addition to these options, BlueStacks also allows you to install local Android files in APK format. The last two options don’t require a Google Account.

After installation, the BlueStacks user interface opens, not the emulator. This provides access to the BlueStacks Store, Google Play Games, Marketplace with offers, and installed games.

The emulator is loaded from here when you start a game from your library, install a new game, etc.

Hint: Ads will be automatically displayed on the side. However, you can disable this in settings.

The game is played using a mouse and keyboard, or a gamepad such as the PS4, PS5, or Xbox One controller. The emulator supports resolutions up to Full HD.

BlueStacks supports various options to improve your gaming experience. For example, you can activate fire mode in a shooter by pressing F1 and aiming with the mouse.

You can also customize game controls, create macros to automate repetitive tasks, and enable real-time translation to translate your game into other languages. If you want to play multiple games at the same time, you can also do this.

Professional:

• Access all Google Play content, some exclusive content, and local Android files
• Supports convenient features such as macros, control customization, real-time translation, and multi-instance.

Cons:

• It’s a little on the heavy side.
• Supports up to full HD.

Google Play Games

Minimum system requirements

• Operating system: Windows 10 or later
• RAM: 8GB
• Hard drive: 10 GB solid state drive
• Graphics: Intel UHD 630 or higher
• Processor: 4 cores
• Miscellaneous: Windows administrator accounts and hardware virtualization

Google Play Games for PC lets you play tons of popular Android games on your Windows PC. The number of games is manageable. In October 2023, he surpassed the 3,000-game mark.

Popular Android games such as Clash of Clans, Fallout Shelter, and Angry Birds 2 are available. However, there is not a single game in the current top 10 Android games. You can check the list of games here.

Google Play Games on PC is currently available in beta for Windows PC. The installation will check your PC settings and notify you of any necessary changes.

A Google account is required. I like the fact that some game progress is synced across all platforms. If you have an Android smartphone or tablet, you can pick up where you left off at any time.

One of the benefits of Google Play games on PC is that you can also play them with a mouse and keyboard. Controllers are supported starting with the October 2023 update.

Optimized games also launch in full-screen mode for added convenience. According to Google, resolutions up to 4K are now supported.

Please be careful: Games may contain advertisements and in-game purchases. Ads may promote games that are not playable on PC.

Professional:

• Some games are optimized for PC.
• Sync between PC and Android devices.
• Supports mouse, keyboard and controller.
• Supports up to 4K.

Cons:

• There aren’t that many games. Many popular titles are missing.
• Local Android games are not supported.

LDPlayer

Minimum system requirements:

• Processor: Intel or AMD processor.
• Operating system: Windows XP or later.
• RAM: 2GB
• Hard drive: 36 GB
• Other: Hardware virtualization is enabled.

LDPlayer is a popular choice if you want to emulate Android on your Windows device. Please note that LDPlayer contains advertisements. You can also purchase and remove a premium subscription.

Note: The installer included an optional offer to install McAfee WebAdvisor. Be sure to decline the installation.

Otherwise, installation is easy. The interface loads quickly and displays a list of game suggestions when you start. You will need a Google Account to install the game here. This player supports installing her Android APK files, making it a great alternative for users who don’t want to sign in using their Google account.

This player isn’t as unwieldy as others, but a lot of that depends on the system you run the emulator on.

LDPlayer comes with an impressive list of additional features. This includes support for game recording, the ability to run multiple instances, or keyboard mapping.

Professional:

• good achievement.
• Install apps and games locally or via Google Play.
• Supports mouse, keyboard, and controller input.
• Rich configuration options to tune your emulator.

Cons:

• The installer contains adware.

closing words

Windows users have a lot of options when it comes to playing Android games on their PC. All three of his emulators mentioned above worked fine during testing. If you have a fairly modern machine, you might want to try BlueStacks first. If your machine is older, LDPlayer may be your first choice.

Google Play Games suffers from weak game support. This may change in the future, but for now it’s only an option if you want to play supported games.

For additional suggestions, check out this list of 7 Android emulators for Windows 11.

Do you want to use another Android emulator or do we need to add something? Let us know in the comments below.

summary

Article name

Android on Windows: the best emulator for games

explanation

Did you know you can play Android games on your Windows PC? Here are the top 3 best Android emulators for PC.

author

Martin Brinkman

the publisher

Ghacks Technology News

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