Google Play Games: Play Android Games on PC with 4K and Gamepad

Android emulators have become very popular tools for accessing the best mobile games on our computers, but not everyone knows that Google has its own solution, Google Play Games. Its latest beta version includes more than 3,000 games, 4K compatibility, and of course, support for the keyboard/mouse combo, as well as Xbox and PS4/PS5 gamepads.

Do you have a family member obsessed with Clash of Clans or Clash Royale? Do you want to get an advantage in a mobile game using the keyboard/mouse combo? Or maybe you're looking for a moment of relaxation with a more enjoyable puzzle? Google says it has the answer to all those questions with its Google Play Games platform, whose latest beta extends the game catalog to more than 3,000, improves the internal search engine, and optimizes support for gamepads and 4K screens.

How to Play Android Games on PC with Google Play Games

The official requirements for Google Play Games are quite reasonable: Windows 10 v2004 as the minimum operating system, an SSD with 10 GB of space (I imagine a hard drive will work, but everything will be slower), four physical cores in the processor (Google mentions that some games will only work on Intel hardware), 8 GB of RAM, an Intel UHD 630 graphics card or better, and hardware virtualization enabled.

First, we need to get the launcher, which in turn is responsible for downloading the installer and monitoring the whole process. Once it's finished, we sign in with our Google account, give authorization to Google Play Games, and most importantly: enable the hypervisor installation. This step requires a restart of the computer, so I suggest saving any information or pending work.

The rest is a matter of entering Google Play Games, searching for our favorite games, and proceeding to install them. The Shift+Tab combination opens the overlay that takes us to the settings menu. There we find volume parameters, key configuration, and fullscreen mode (assuming the game supports it). As for the loss of productivity... I can't help with that.