Android Games Download For Pc

There are a lot of valid reasons why someone would want to run on their PC. App developers may be trying to test their application before shipping it out. Gamers may want to use a mouse and keyboard on their games. Maybe you just want it there to have it. In any case, Android emulation on PC is possible and we’re going to take a look at the best Android emulators for PC. Please note, the process is rarely easy and some of these require some technical knowledge.

There are only a few emulators where it’s as easy as downloading, opening, and using them. The market slowed down a lot in recent years with many old favorites (Andy, AmiduOS, and Leapdroid) permanently leaving the space or becoming unusable without tons of issues. You can find out about their fates at the bottom of the article. Android Studio is the default development console for Android. It comes with a bunch of tools to help developers make apps and games specifically for Android. As it turns out, there is also a built-in emulator that you can use to test out your app or game.

The setup is rather complicated and it can take a long time. Thus, it's not one we would recommend for consumer level use. However, developers can simply use this tool as their emulator for testing their apps. It also supports Kotlin in case developers want to try that out. It's too much of a pain for regular people, but it's excellent for developers.

ARChon isn't a traditional emulator. You install it as a Google Chrome extension.

It then gives Chrome the ability to run Android apps and games (albeit with limited support). It's not an easy emulator to get running.

You'll have to install the thing to Chrome. From there, you have to obtain APKs and load them in. As an added rub, you may need to use a tool to change the APK in order to make it compatible.

There are a lot more steps to make this work than most other Android emulators for PC. On the plus side, though, it works with any operating system that can run an instance of Chrome (Mac OS, Linux, Windows, etc).

We linked to the official GitHub where you can find detailed instructions on its use. Bliss is something a little bit different. It works as an Android emulator for PC via virtual machine. However, it can also just flat run on your computer through a USB stick. This is definitely a power user option and not recommended for simple.

As a VM install, the process is fairly simple, if tedious. The USB installation method is even more complicated, but it lets your computer actually run Android natively from boot.

That makes Bliss a super unique emulator if you can make it through the steps to the end. Of course, it only really runs well if your system is compatible so be prepared with a backup of your current operating system. The system runs Android Oreo and that's among the newer versions of Android offered on an emulator. This is a bit of a diamond in the rough, but again, we only recommend this one to the tech savvy. Bluestacks is the most mainstream of all Android emulators. There are several reasons for that.

For starters, it's compatible with Windows and Mac. It was also one of the first that worked really well that still gets regular updates. The emulator targets mobile gamers.

There is a stigma with Bluestacks because it can feel a little bloated at times. Bluestacks 4 (launched in 2018) aimed to fix that with mixed results. However, it has the ability to launch multiple instances so you can play multiple games at once (or the same game multiple times). It also includes key-mapping and settings for many games installed. That should help make things much easier.

It's one of the heaviest emulators on the list. However, it also has the most features for better or for worse. Recent updates put Bluestacks at Android 7.1.2 (Nougat), one of the most recent of any emulator. The update to Bluestacks 4 also improved speed, even on older computers.

It should work well on most reasonably recent computers and laptops. Droid4X is currently available, but it's a tough one to recommend. It's one of the classic Android emulators for PC and t features a simple design that should easily work for a lot of people.

It markets itself towards gamers and boasts support for simpler, casual games. However, like most Android emulators, you can do productivity stuff if you want to. This one is not in active development anymore.

Its last update was March 28th, 2016. Thus, we recommend you tread with caution as this could be a buggy and unstable product. Droid4x is also Mac compatible.

We have the Windows version linked up, so Mac users will need to search a bit for it. This Android emulator is mostly for developers. It lets you test your apps on a variety of devices without owning them. You can configure the emulator for a variety of devices with various versions of Android to help suit your needs. For instance, you can run a Nexus One with Android 4.2 or a Nexus 6 with Android 6.0. You can easily switch between virtual devices at will.

It’s not great for consumer uses, but Genymotion does offer their services for free for personal use. It's most useful feature is its availability on both your desktop computer and the cloud. Those without powerful computers can make Genymotion's servers do all the work for them. KoPlayer is a newer Android emulator for PC (comparatively speaking). It has also managed to fly under most radars until recently. Its main focus is for gaming.

You'll be able to use key-mapping to emulate a controller with your keyboard. Players will also be able to record game play and upload it wherever they want. The install process is easy enough and it seems to work okay. It runs in a virtual machine like most other Android emulators for PC. It's a middle of the road option and it's also usable for productivity. There is the occasional but, but most emulators on the list have them.

It's not bad for a free option. MEmu is another of the up and coming Android emulators that seems to do quite well with gamers. One of its biggest features is support for both AMD and Intel chipsets. Most work on AMD processors, but it's nice to see developers specifically pay attention to AMD's platform. Additionally, it supports Android Jelly Bean, Kit Kat, and Lollipop. You can even run multiple instances at once for multiple games or testing features. It aims itself at gamers much like Bluestacks and similar emulators.

However, it's also quite usable as a productivity tool as well. Its most recent update was in late December 2018 according to its blog and that means its development is still in full swing. We appreciate that. Nox is another Android emulator for PC for gamers.

That includes the usual stuff like key-mapping with your keyboard, actual controller support, and even the ability to key-map gesture controls. For instance, you can assign the function to swipe right to an arrow key and use that in a game without actual hardware controller support. It’s a lot of fun and seems to work rather well most of the time. It’s also entirely free and in active development. The demo video below is rather old and it definitely ran better than that on my laptop.

Remix OS Player by Jide is one of the newer Android emulators for PC (comparatively speaking). It runs Android Marshmallow and that's still relatively new compared to many of the others on the list. The installation process is pretty simple and using it also fairly easy.

It caters mostly to gamers. There are a few gamer specific features along with a customizable toolbar. It boasts features like running multiple games at once. That said, it's a fairly clean emulator so it's still perfectly usable as a productivity tool. The site runs a little slow, though, and it hasn't received a substantial update in a while and its social media accounts have been inactive since 2017. We're concerned about this one in the long term, but it still works for now.

Xamarin is an IDE similar to Android Studio. The difference is that it can plug into things like Microsoft Visual Studio for an even larger development environment (for better or for worse). Also, like the Android Studio, this comes with a built-in emulator for app or game testing. In case it wasn't readily apparent, we only recommend this one to developers. The setup is simply too tedious for regular consume use.

Xamarin's emulator is not as powerful as something like Genymotion, but it'll get the job done if you intend on using this and it's also configurable for your needs. It's free for personal use. Companies and larger teams may have to negotiate a payment plan. YouWave is one of the older Android emulators for PC. It's been around for a long time.

Its last update was in 2016, though. That makes it fairly current. The free version uses Ice Cream Sandwich.

Forking out the $29.99 will get you the Lollipop version. We didn't experience any major issues with either one. The installation process was easy enough.

It doesn't have any game specific features but it will still play games. That makes it good for light gaming and productivity. We haven't seen a meaningful update in quite a long time, though, so even its Lollipop version is woefully out of date. We don't recommend the premium version, but the free version works nicely for those who want an older emulator that runs older Android. As it turns out, you can build your own emulator.

Here's how it works. You need to download VirtualBox (linked above). You then have to download an image from Android-x86.org. From there, it's just a matter of finding one of the many guides online and following the steps. This is easily one of the more difficult methods, but still not quite as tedious or difficult as setting up a whole IDE like Android Studio or Xamarin.

We don't recommend you try without a tutorial and a little prior knowledge. It won't work well, it'll be buggy, and unless you're a coder, it'll be difficult to fix.

Still, it'll be yours to customize as you please and who knows, maybe you'll make and release an emulator that'll adorn this list someday. 10 best cloud storage services and apps for Android of 2018! If we missed any of the best Android emulators for PC, tell us about them in the comments! You can our latest Android app and game lists! Here are what happened to some old classics from the list:. and no longer operates. Those who bought it can still get an installer if you.

Andy began using some seriously not great development tactics, including suspected bitcoin mining without user permission. Until they get their stuff together, they are exempt from this list. Most of the rest simply haven’t been updated or in active development in years and don’t really work well anymore with newer operating systems and hardware. Best VPN Service 2018 ExpressVPN for Android is the best Android VPN app that we’ve tested. The service offers excellent security, with 256-bit encryption, an SSL-secured network, and unlimited bandwidth.

The simply interface makes it easy to pick among the company’s 145 server locations, which are spread out among 94 different countries. And with excellent connection stability, you can use all your other apps with total confidence that ExpressVPN is protecting you in the background. Want to give ExpressVPN a try? The company offers a risk free 30-day money-back guarantee, so you have nothing to lose.

Advertisement Android smartphone and tablet games are designed to be compelling and addictive; their sales figures back this up. But quite often it would be great to be able to carry on playing a game after your battery has run down, or you’ve sat down in front of your PC or laptop. The answer, of course, is to continue playing your Android game on your PC. But how is this possible? Several tools are available that can make this happen, from emulators and virtual machines to browser plugins.

But which is the best option? 3 Emulators That Will Run Android Games on a PC One popular way to run Android software on a PC is by running an emulator or virtual machine. Three options worth considering in this case are:.

— A virtualization project, that runs with Oracle VirtualBox. Free signup is required. — Emulates Android on your Windows desktop. Probably the simplest of these options.

It’s also a favorite for people who want to play Pokemon Go on their PCs. AMIDuOS No Longer Available — Android Lollipop emulator designed to run games (and apps) in Windows 7/8/10. Costs around $14 (price on site is €13) but with a free 30 day trial. But which of these is best? If you’re looking for a method of playing any Android game on a desktop PC or laptop (or even Windows tablet) with the minimum of fuss, the best option is Nox App Player. But because we like you, we’re going to look at all three in detail. Playing Your Favorite Game There’s a good chance that if you’re trying to play Android games on your desktop computer, it’s because there’s one particular title that you want to have some fun with.

Free Games Download Android Phone

Of course, we don’t know which game that is, but you’ll find that the clear majority of titles will play without any problem. To give you an idea of how easy it is to install a game with these three systems, however, I’ve attempted to install Angry Birds Go on each one. But is it simply a case of installing the game from the available app store, and playing, much as you would with a mobile Android device? Note, however, that you may require some time to correctly configure how you control the game. While keyboard and mouse may be an option, a game controller is probably your best bet. Virtual Android With GenyMotion Two downloads are available for GenyMotion. The first has VirtualBox bundled, for those of you aren’t already using the Virtual machines allow you to run other operating systems on your current computer.

Free Android Games Download For Pc

Here's what you should know about them. If you have With VirtualBox you can easily install and test multiple operating systems. We'll show you how to set up Windows 10 and Ubuntu Linux as a virtual machine.

Installed on your PC already, however, choose the smaller download. You’ll need to sign up to proceed, but this is free for home use. We’re looking at the Windows version here, but note that GenyMotion offers Mac OS X and Linux downloads.

Once downloaded, run the GenyMotion installer to get started. During the setup, you’ll be prompted to enter your login details. Click Yes when prompted to add a new virtual device, and select your preferred virtual Android device from the list, clicking Next to proceed, then Finish when the process is complete. To run your downloaded virtual device, click Start. GenyMotion features a bunch of controls along the edges of the window, including screen rotation and volume.

You won’t find any games there, so will have to install a gapps package (Google apps) to install Google Play. We tried this and unfortunately the results were disappointing, but you might have better luck using this guide.

Not that you will not be able to install titles via a Don't want to use the Google Play Store? Or don't have access to it? Here are the best alternative app stores for Android., as the browser crashes when this is attempted. Nox App Player A less time intensive option, Nox includes some additional features, such as screen recording. To install, head to the website and download, then run the EXE file, following the instructions. Once complete, Nox App Player will be ready. This emulator is very user-friendly.

For instance, there is a collection of buttons around the app window, that you can use to simulate interaction with a touch screen, portable device. There’s also keyboard mapping, which can improve your performance in Android FPS games, which like any other, can be installed from Google Play.

It’s also possible to drag files — including game APKs — from your PC. To install a game from your PC, you need to first enable root on the app. Look for the Settings cog in the top-right corner, click this, then select On in the drop-down menu for Root. You’ll need to restart Nox App Player to proceed. Once restarted, apps can be installed by dragging an APK file from your PC desktop into the Nox App Player window. There’s also a browsable option via the right-hand menu bar. AMIDuOS AMIDuOS is a simple installation, and once you run it you’ll see that you can install games from the The Google Play Store isn't your only option when it comes to downloading apps - should you give the Amazon Appstore a try?

(stock apps are included). To install games from Google Play, you’ll need to a gapps (Google Apps) package, which you’ll find at the. Simply choose the update that matches the AMIDuOS version you installed, and follow the displayed instructions to apply it to AMIDuOS. Once this is done, you can start installing apps. Android Emulators Stability and Issues While all three of these tools are worth trying, in practice the results are mixed. For instance, Nox App Player will only run with the basic Intel GPU on my laptop.

Similarly, AMIDuOS refuses to install Angry Birds Go from the Amazon App Store. And then there’s GenyMotion, with its Google Apps-free environment and almost useless browser.

A lot of effort and some luck is required to get games running here. In short, while these tools are all workable, and might give you the results you want, there is a lack of consistency. This might be a big problem for you if you want to run that great new mobile game on your desktop or laptop.

So, what should you do? Traditional Android App Emulation on Your PC We’ve previously looked at other tools for running Android apps and games. These options might suit you better than those listed above.

Bluestacks — This is probably the Back in January, BlueStacks was introduced to MUO readers in an article that provides similar alternatives to the emulation software. Since then, the development of BlueStacks has progressed in a way that, in my opinion. Android x86 Project — A full Android operating system designed to run on desktop computers (if for some reason you’re interested in older Android versions running on your PC). Remix OS — Another Android distribution aimed at desktop PCs. (Remix OS is particularly good at running high-end Android games.) Our look at methods of It's actually pretty easy to get Android apps running on your desktop or laptop! Here, we step you through the best methods.

Will offer more options. Meanwhile, if you have an Android device and want to run games from it on your PC, a PC sync tool that features wireless mirroring. We’ve also looked at the It's now possible to run Android apps in the Chrome browser - it just takes a little bit of work. For the Chrome browser, but this — and its more recent update — don’t appear to support Android games on a desktop computer.

Playing Android Games on PC: It’s Not Easy As you’ve no doubt realized, getting Android games to run on your PC is not simple. While it is possible, you’ll need to spend time working out which is the best app for you, and your PC. Once you’ve done this, you’re then going to have to spend even more time trying out the games you want to run on your PC, and hoping that your chosen emulator or virtual machine is up to the task of running the game.

Even then, you might run into issues with the lack of a suitable controller. If it’s a big screen Android experience you’re looking for, you might prefer to cast your Android device to a TV, or even invest on an Android game console. Have you tried any of these methods? Do you prefer to keep your Android games on your phone or tablet?

Controller issues? Tell us in the comments.

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