What you need to know
- GameSir's GameHub application has officially arrived on the Google Play Store, and is free to download.
- GameHub is a customized fork of Winlator, making it possible to play Windows games from Android devices.
- Specifically, GameHub lets you sign into your personal Steam account in order to download and play Windows games.
There's an emulation revolution taking place and things just got even more promising. GameHub is a new emulator that just landed on the Play Store, bringing with it arguably the easiest way to play Windows games on your favorite Android devices.
Technically, this has been possible for a few years through the likes of Mobox, Vectras, and others. However, Winlator has been taking over the space, quickly becoming the default recommendation for many. The problem with Winlator is that it's far from user-friendly, and can easily trip up those who have a bit more technological knowledge.
Installing one game means hours spent configuring each VM, downloading the necessary game files, transferring them to your phone or tablet, then waiting for the install to finish. And once everything is done, keep your fingers crossed that the game will just load, because of it doesn't, get ready to set aside some time for tinkering.
At one point, Winlator was a fully open-source project, meaning that anyone could clone the GitHub repo and re-release the app on their own. That's where GameSir comes in, as it's done exactly that with GameHub. The emulator also integrates features from similar projects like Pluvia and GameNative, which let you sign into your Steam account and download games.
When going through the process of installing games, GameHub detects what hardware you're using and then downloads the necessary files that are (hopefully) the most compatible. But even if they aren't, or if there's an updated Turnip driver released, you can download and install it right from the app. GameHub ultimately simplifies the entire process, removing a lot of the headache of trying to get Winlator set up.
GameHub was technically first released earlier this year, but until now, the only way to download the emulator was through the dedicated website. Given the current rigmarole surrounding the future of sideloading on Android, it might not be long before this method is no longer viable. Thankfully, GameSir is getting ahead of the curve by releasing GameHub onto the Play Store.
At the same time, it's worth noting that there are two major differences between the Play Store version and the version available directly. The first of which is the removal of external storage support, which is a downright bummer, and we're hoping to see this changed in the future. The other is that you're not able to load Windows games into the GameHub app yourself, so you'll want to wait until you're on a stable network before trying to install any games.
Never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd be able to play modern Windows games natively on my Android phones, tablets or gaming handhelds. It's finally possible, and now, it's really easy for anyone to get started.
