If you’ve ever played a mobile game and thought “this would be better with a mouse and keyboard,” Google’s got great news for you.
As of Wednesday, Android users in the U.S. can download and play a selection of Android games on Windows PCs, per a Google blog post. The feature (which is still in beta) has been available since earlier this year in places like Hong Kong and Korea, but now it’s expanded to the U.S., Canada, Mexico, The Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brazil. And even though it’s a beta, it’s an open beta, so anyone can hop in and try it out.
All you need is a Windows 10 PC with 8GB of RAM, 10GB of storage on an SSD, and a GPU that’s “comparable” to Intel UHD Graphics 630, according to the Google Play Games website. Simply go to that website and click the big green “Get beta” button to download the client and get started. Popular games like Arknights, Asphalt 9 Legends, and Just Dance Now are available to play on PC.
Crucially, games will save progress between devices. So you can log into your Google account and play something on PC, and then leave that to pick up your phone and start right up where you left off. (It’d be a real bummer if this weren’t the case, so it’s good that Google thought of that part.)
And, yes, you can use a mouse and keyboard to control these games, which old-school PC gamers will surely find more palatable than a touchscreen.
This beta feature feels like an extension of the unholy alliance forged between Microsoft and Google in 2021. It started with the ability to download Android apps, like TikTok, to a Windows 11 PC, and now it extends to Android gaming on a Microsoft machine. See what we can get done if we all play nice?
Now go, dear reader, and rack up those high scores using way more precise controls than you’d have on a phone.
