Mobile gaming has come a long way in recent years thanks to advancing hardware and technology in smartphones. Playing console level AAA games on your devices is no longer a fantasy. So in this article, let’s explore the three primary ways you can play these PC or console games on your smartphones.
1. Streaming AAA Games to Smartphones
Cloud gaming services have revolutionized the way we access and play AAA titles on mobile devices. This is by far one of the best ways to experience AAA titles on your smartphone. By leveraging powerful remote servers or even your home gaming PC/console, one can stream the game directly to your device. So you don’t need the best hardware on your device.
There are plenty of platforms that offer these services like Xbox Cloud Gaming, Nvidia GeForce Now, and even Steam Link. With Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, you get access to a vast library of games that can be streamed on both iOS and Android phones. Nvidia GeForce Now connects your existing game libraries like Steam and Epic Games to play titles through both free and subscription tiers. Lastly, you have Steam Link for gaming PCs, which lets gamers steam their Steam library to mobile devices over a shared network.
2. Emulation
Emulation allows smartphone to play older AAA games. This can be achieved by mimicking older gaming consoles like the Sony PSP (PlayStation Portable). Improved hardware has meant that these modern phones can easily outperform older consoles like the PlayStation 2. On Android, users can run third party software or certain emulators from Google Play Store to run such games. Emulation used to be more restricted on iOS due to Apple’s app policies. However, there are certain emulation apps like Delta and PPSSPP that are finally available on the App Store that support emulation.
3. Native Support
While the first two methods are roundabout ways to either play modern or older AAA games, recent smartphones have also gotten native support for such big budget titles. Especially on iOS, the latest iPhones like the iPhone 15 and iPhone 16 series can natively run big games like Resident Evil Village, Resident Evil 4 Remake, and Assassin’s Creed Mirage. These games are optimized to run on the iOS platform and use the iPhone’s hardware.
While these take up quite a bit of storage, this signifies a great shift of high end gaming on mobile devices. Unfortunately, Android users don’t get access to these massive franchises. But there are certain popular games like Minecraft, Terraria, Stardew Valley, and even older AAA games like Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Back in August 2024, I also published an article titled “Why AAA Games Still Feel Out of Place on Smartphones“, which you should check out.
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