I tried emulating PC games on a Pixel phone, and I have mixed thoughts

As one of the more notable emulation stories in recent years, playing PC games on your Android phone or tablet has become increasingly popular. No, we're not talking about streaming, but actually running these games via emulation/translation. Winlator and GameHub are two leading apps in this regard. The latter recently received an update that improves performance on devices with Mali GPUs, including the Google Pixel series.

With that in mind, I thought I'd try playing some PC games on my Pixel 7 Pro via GameHub. GameHub itself can only be downloaded from GameSir's website, as it is not available on the Play Store. The company noted that the Mali GPU improvements were available with the latest download (version 4.1.3), but I was running version 4.1.4 at the time of writing. I opted to use my Pixel 7 Pro as it's the only Pixel phone I have on hand, but this should be a good baseline for Pixel owners.

However, this should be a good baseline for Pixel owners. If a game runs here, then you can expect better results on more recent Google phones. It's worth noting that my personal device only has 128GB of storage, which means I can't test games with huge file sizes. 128GB of base storage really isn't enough for an $800+ phone in 2025.

Nevertheless, I opted to try a variety of lightweight and more demanding titles. Installing games can be a long-winded affair, though. You need to install the game on your PC and copy those folders to your phone, or install the game via GameHub using your supplied setup files. So far, so good.

However, the latter approach can be a bit of a pain, as you ideally need to install games to the D or E drive (which corresponds to your phone's accessible folders like Downloads) if you want to import that title into GameHub. Otherwise, you have to boot up the desktop environment each time you want to play that specific game. Once you've installed a game via the app, you can add the title to your library by browsing for its exe file.

GameHub recently gained Steam integration, so you can apparently install titles from your Steam library. However, some people have expressed privacy and security concerns with logging in via Steam, although you can log in via Steam Guard if you don't want to use your username and password. Others have recommended creating a new Steam account for GameHub and linking your game library to it via Steam Families.

It's also unclear whether this only applies to DRM-free games in your library. Otherwise, the app provides links to some demos such as Resident Evil 7, Resident Evil 2, and a few more games. Nevertheless, GameHub offers some handy improvements over rivals like Winlator, including a far more intuitive UI, robust controller support, and the ability to automatically download required components for individual games.

Which PC games can I play on my Pixel?

The first few PC games I installed on my Pixel 7 Pro were lightweight titles, starting with Spelunky. The original freeware version of Spelunky should be a breeze, as the system requirements mean it can effectively run on a potato.

The good news is that the app actually starts up, and you can play the game. However, it looks like the frame rate constantly runs in the high teens here. That could be playable for some people, but this is a no-go for my modest handset.

I also briefly tried tweaking a few settings, like the translation speed, as well as switching between Proton and Wine versions, but to no avail. That's not a great start.

Crysis: Can the Pixel 7 Pro run this game?

This 2007 first-person shooter was considered the benchmark for PC titles for years following its release. It's since been ported to the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo Switch, and more consoles.

Unfortunately, Crysis didn't even start on my phone, as it briefly launches before returning to GameHub. I also tried tweaking a few settings, albeit without success. Maybe that's a good thing, because I'm not sure my Pixel would survive running it.

The verdict: Do you emulate games on your Google Pixel phone?

Not necessarily! In other words, it's still worth trying the app on your Pixel if you really want to play a specific PC game. However, it's a pretty time-consuming and occasionally frustrating experience that requires some patience.

It's not at all like running a Nintendo 64 or PS2 emulator on your phone. Despite these criticisms, the app is continuously receiving updates, so things should improve in the future.

It's also hard to complain about these things when it's a free app! Plus, these are indeed PC games running on your phone. It's a minor miracle that some games run at all.

New rival: Winlator

Some games that don't run in GameHub might run fine here, and vice-versa. Newer versions of Winlator also support the new Vortek driver, which targets Mali GPUs.

However, this app doesn't quite have the same intuitive UI as GameHub, so that's something to keep in mind.

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