Take advantage of your smartphone’s huge screen
Consoles are cool and all, but using the best game streaming apps on the best gaming phone is a whole other experience. Have you spent years building up a vast library of games in your Steam Library? Or are you an Xbox fan-boy who wants to be able to play Halo on your phone? With game streaming apps you’ll be able to play games wherever you are, and much more.
There are more cloud gaming services out there than you might realize, with more companies getting involved all the time. This makes it so you don’t have to have the top-of-the-line gaming PC just to enjoy the latest AAA titles. All you need is a good Android phone, a gaming controller, and a phone mount, and you are ready to play deep into the night.
The top 3 apps
- 1. Xbox Game Pass
- 2. Google Stadia
- 3. NVIDIA GeForce NOW
More options
- PS4 Remote Play
- Steam Link
- Parsec
- AMD Link
- Amazon Luna
These are the best Game streaming apps
For the time being, there are three big players when it comes to the best game streaming apps for Android. Xbox Game Pass is finally out of its beta stage and is available for many Android users. Microsoft expanded its partnership with Samsung, making the Galaxy Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra some of the first handsets to support this new streaming service out of the box.
Google Stadia saw a rocky launch, and the company has been relatively quiet ever since, but it supports more than 100 games now, which is a far cry from the days where you were limited to around 20. But there’s stiff competition from all sides and it will be interesting to see Google’s response with Stadia in the months to come.
PC gamers can rejoice knowing that they can finally play their favorite PC games from the comfort of their smartphone. NVIDIA GeForce Now has a library of compatible games, so you can use it to stream games you already own. There are a few limitations, so if you plan on a 12-hour live stream, you might want to think twice.
1. Xbox Game Streaming
- Game Library: 100+ Games
- Output: 4K @ 60 FPS
- Price: $14.99/month
What started out as a beta program has turned into something much more ambitious. Xbox Game Pass has transformed into the de-facto option to play all of your Xbox games from wherever you happen to be. Set your phone up with a mount and grab your favorite controller, then fire up the Xbox Game Streaming app.
Currently, there are more than 100 titles to choose from, but we are expecting more to arrive — both first and third-party titles. After Microsoft’s acquisition of Bethesda, we wouldn’t be surprised to see the likes of Fallout or Doom made available sooner rather than later.
Xbox Game Streaming is compatible with many of the most popular Android phones. Getting started is easy, as you can sign up for a free trial, and then you’ll be paying $14.99 per month with Game Pass Ultimate.
Simply the best
Xbox Game Streaming
$14.99 / month at Google Play
Best for everyone
Xbox Game Streaming offers more than 100 games, and can be fired up from anywhere. Make the most out of your gaming session and get the right phone mount and controller, then play to your heart’s content.
2. Google Stadia
- Game Library: 100+ Games
- Output: 4K @ 60 FPS
- Price: $9.99/month
If you’re someone who enjoys living in the Google ecosystem, chances are you’ve already tried out Stadia for a bit. The service launched back in 2019 and featured just 22 games. Since then, Stadia’s library has expanded to more than 100 games, and is available on many more devices outside of the Pixel lineup.
Those with a Chromecast Ultra and Stadia Controller can enjoy game streaming to your TV. The service has had a few hiccups over the last year or so, but if you have a Stadia Pro subscription, you are granted the ability to play pre-selected games for free on a regular basis, which you can keep as long as you have the subscription.
Google offers a one-month free-trial for Stadia, and a three month free-trial for those who purchase the Stadia Premiere Edition. After the trial period has ended, you’ll be looking at $9.99 month to continue enjoying some pretty great games with Stadia.
Stream with Google
Google Stadia
$9.99 / month at Google Play
The Ultimate Google Gaming experience
Google Stadia offers 4K streaming at 60 FPS and can be used with an array of smartphones. You can also use a Chromecast Ultra and game on the big screen.
3. NVIDIA GeForce Now
- Game Library: 500+ Supported Games
- Output: 1080p @ 60 FPS
- Price: $4.99/month
NVIDIA GeForce Now is an obvious choice when it comes to the best game streaming apps, as the library is absolutely massive. There are more than 500 games that are touted as working with the service. As long as you own the game on Steam, UPlay, or other PC platforms, you can likely play it through GeForce Now. Then you can play it on other PCs or even on your phone.
While it’s free to stream your games with GeForce Now, you will be limited to only being able to play for an hour at a time. This means you’ll get “kicked” from the server and will have to queue back up after the hour limit has been met. If you want to bypass this limitation, GeForce Now Founders Edition is priced at $4.99 per month, giving you the ability to stream for up to six hours at a time.
Despite being in “beta” status since 2017, NVIDIA has finally removed the training wheels and opened the service to everyone. There are even some added benefits like “NVIDIA Highlights” which automatically saves some of your in-game moments, making it easy to share them with your friends.
PC Gamers apply
NVIDIA GeForce NOW
$4.99 per month at Google Play
Stream your library wherever you want
NVIDIA GeForce Now is out of beta status and is available for everyone. But you might want to sign up for the Founders Edition if you play for more than an hour at a time.
Other great options
As we’ve mentioned a few times, there are a lot of new and recently-updated applications that allow you to stream your faovrite games to your Android smartphone or tablet. Some of them can even be installed and used on an Android TV that doesn’t have to be an NVIDIA Shield. These following picks may not have made our top three, but are all great options nonetheless.
PS4 Remote Play
- Game Library: Your PS4 Game Library
- Output: 1080p @ 60 FPS
- Price: Free
Sometimes you come across a situation where a new game has launched for the PS4 but the TV is being occupied. With PS4 Remote Play, you don’t have to miss out on playing that title and can do so right from your phone or tablet. There are a few things that need to be done in order to set up PS4 Remote Play, but then it’s game on!
Since you’ve already purchased the PS4 and games, there are no extra costs associated with using PS4 Remote Play. We just recommend picking up a PS4 controller phone mount so you can put your phone in the cradle while the TV is being occupied. Then you can keep playing on the big screen after the movie’s over.
Share the TV
PS4 Remote Play
Free at Google Play
PS4 gaming anywhere
PS4 Remote Play makes it easy to play your library of games, with your DualShock 4 controller, right from your phone. When you’re ready to go back to the console, Sony makes that easy too.
Steam Link
- Game Library: Your Steam Library
- Output: 4K @ 60 FPS
- Price: Free
It’s no secret that Steam is arguably the best way to keep your gaming library organized on your PC. But many titles aren’t available via your favorite console, let alone on the Play Store. With Steam Link, you won’t have to worry about any of that, as it’s dead simple to get Steam Link on Android.
You will obviously need the best game controller for Android, as you won’t be playing with your keyboard and mouse. But after downloading Steam Link to your smartphone, tablet, or even Android TV, you can enjoy all of your favorite PC games. The best part is that you no longer need the old Steam Link hardware box in order to take advantage, and there are no additional costs involved.
Steam Streaming
Steam Link
Free at Google Play
Your Steam library from any device
Steam Link makes it so that you can stream your entire library of games from anywhere in your home. There’s nothing extra to purchase, other than finding the right controller and phone mount.
Parsec
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- Game Library: Your PC Game Library
- Output: 4K @ 60 FPS
- Price: Free
Parsec is a relatively-new contender in the best game streaming apps category. The service launched back in 2018, and has been refined over recent years into one of the best options. One of the biggest benefits to Parsec is the ability to play co-op games without both players actually needing to be in the same room, let alone the same house. This is done through a proprietary networking protocol that adds just 7 milliseconds of latency. Basically, it lets you play with your friends over the cloud.
This service is also being transformed into a robust Remote Desktop tool. If you’re stuck at home, but want to watch a movie with your friends, then you can fire up Parsec and bring the party anywhere. Parsec provides up to 4K at 60 FPS screen sharing, removing the jitters and jumps that usually occur when trying to share your screen. You won’t need additional hardware, and there are the added benefits of having 2FA, peer-to-peer workflows, and an encrypted connection.
Surprisingly robust
Parsec
Free at Google Play
Not just for gaming
Parsec’s primary focus is to improve multi-player cloud gaming for everyone. But the service is much more robust than that, as it has become a great Remote Desktop tool.
AMD Link
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- Game Library: Your PC Game Library
- Output: 4K @ 60 FPS
- Price: Free
On one hand, you have NVIDIA with GeForce Now, which allows you to play games in the cloud regardless of hardware. However, AMD has its own cloud gaming service, which is not as feature-rich but is perfect for those with a compatible graphics card. After setting up the AMD Link server on your Desktop PC, you can then begin streaming any of your games right to your mobile device.
AMD Link is also unique in that it can act as a secondary display on your smartphone, showing off your metrics during intense gaming sessions. You can view things like RAM and CPU utilization, along with your FPS at a glance without ever exiting the game you are playing.
For AMD GPU owners
AMD Link
Free at Google Play
Use it for gaming or as a tool
AMD Link may only work with Radeon GPU’s, but this service is pretty awesome if you have one. From game streaming to having a dedicated second screen for metrics, this is perfect for the AMD user.
Amazon Luna
- Game Library: 100+ Games
- Output: 4K @ 60 FPS
- Price: $5.99/month
Amazon Luna is the new kid on the block, with the company announcing it’ll launch later this year. Luna features a library of more than 100 games, and there’s an additional partnership with Ubisoft to add even more. What makes this even more awesome is that you won’t be tied to an Amazon Fire TV Stick if you want to play.
Luna will be available on Android, iOS, Mac, PC, and of course, Fire TV. Games can be played at up to 4K resolution at 60 FPS. With the new Luna Controller, users can switch between devices easier than ever without needing to pair it with every device you want to play on thanks to Amazon’s Cloud Servers. It will be interesting to see how this stacks up against the other competitors when it comes to the best game streaming apps.
New Kid
Amazon Luna
$5.99 / month at Amazon
Cloud gaming with Amazon
Amazon Luna is the latest player to join the cloud gaming battle. This upcoming service will offer over 100 games at launch, with more to come.
