How GameNative wants to replace handheld PCs

We’ve seen several apps that allow you to play PC games on your Android device without an internet connection. Winlator opened the floodgates back in 2023, but perhaps the best solution is GameNative.

The app, built on the Pluvia project, lets you easily install and play Steam games on your Android device. It doesn’t stop there, as GameNative also supports the Epic Games Store, Good Old Games (GOG), and standalone game files. The developer also made a big move several months ago by offering a known configs option by default, which lets you automatically run games with the best configurations for performance and stability.

It’s all truly impressive stuff, and if the person behind GameNative has his way, the app could kill handheld PCs once and for all.

GameNative creator Utkarsh Dalal doesn’t just think his app is a mere curiosity. Instead, he reckons it could replace, never mind complement, handheld PCs like the Steam Deck and ASUS ROG Ally.

“Our long-term goal, laid out in our public roadmap, is to make an Android device with GameNative a true replacement for a handheld PC,” Dalal told Android Authority. He added that he wanted to achieve this goal within the next two years.

That’s an ambitious goal, especially as handheld PCs have x86 chips that play nicely with all PC games. By contrast, the vast majority of Android devices use ARM-based chips. This means Android devices require translation software and other tools to play PC games locally. These tools are usually bundled with apps like GameNative and GameHub.

However, Dalal is optimistic that Android devices like handhelds could close the gap and even do better than handheld PCs:

Both performance and compatibility are better on handheld PCs at the moment. But devices like the $400 Odin 3 are a glimpse of what I think Android handhelds could be in two years: powerful, cheap, portable and by then GameNative will have far better compatibility across a range of devices. There are already some videos made about how they compare.

Another reason to believe that Android handhelds can close the gap to handheld PCs is the arrival of the Snapdragon 8 Elite and 8 Elite Gen 5 processors. These chips promise gigantic CPU gains over their predecessors, along with notable graphical upgrades. However, the Elite processors were initially hobbled by a lack of open-source Turnip drivers. These community-driven GPU drivers bring many optimizations and bug fixes to bleeding-edge apps like Eden and GameNative. In fact, they’re often considered critical for cutting-edge emulation. Thankfully, the first Turnip drivers for Snapdragon 8 Elite series chips were released in early 2026.

“The early builds of Turnip drivers have been giving us excellent results on 8 Elite (and especially 8 Elite Gen 5 chips). It’s a huge deal,” Dalal says. He adds that he’s been able to play Hitman World of Assassination and Cyberpunk 2077, though the latter still occasionally freezes.

Is it worth buying a Snapdragon 8 Elite series device if PC gaming is a top priority? The GameNative creator gives a tentative thumbs-up:

I do recommend people buy devices with 8 Elite chips, with the caveat that the drivers are maturing quickly but aren’t fully there yet. Some games may still have issues right now, but these chips are the right choice for both performance and future-proofing.

Of course, nothing beats an actual gaming PC for sheer horsepower. I also expect that handheld PCs like the Steam Deck will hold the compatibility edge for a while. But it’s clear that Android devices can handle indie titles and even some older AAA games via GameNative.

Oddly enough, Valve is a big reason why today’s PC gaming apps on Android are flourishing. The firm’s Proton compatibility layer allows Windows games to run on Linux, and it’s also a key component in apps like GameNative and GameHub. Valve also funded FEX, which converts x86 instructions used by PC games into ARM instructions. The company even released a native Steam client for ARM-based Linux platforms. These developments aim to get SteamOS and PC games running on the firm’s upcoming Steam Frame headset, which runs a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset found in older flagship Android devices.

But Valve’s work also benefits the Android ecosystem, according to Dalal:

Valve and GameNative appear to have a symbiotic relationship — any changes that Valve makes upstream to libraries like Proton and FEX directly benefit us with increased compatibility and performance. We’ve already made a build for Proton 11 for GameNative that users have been enjoying using, and releasing the Steam client for Arm also benefits us hugely as we can have Steam running directly on users’ devices with almost no overhead, bringing us the benefits of online play, and all the other integrations that the native Steam client brings. As these components get more mature, it means that gaming on Android will only get better – more games will work out of the box, games will have better performance, and heat from running games will also reduce.

In fact, Dalal is already testing a version of GameNative that integrates the Steam ARM Linux client. This Steam integration could ship in GameNative v1.0 if everything goes to plan.

So, this upstart PC gaming app uses Proton, FEX, and numerous other software components to run computer games on an Android device. That’s pretty similar to other apps like GameHub and Winlator. However, Dalal reckons that GameNative’s secret sauce is the known configs feature. This tool automatically selects the best configuration for specific games, saving users from manual tweaks.

“The known configs have truly been a game-changer — much of the compatibility (and popularity!) gains we’ve seen in GameNative have been a direct result of applying this feature by default in February this year,” the developer explains.

Dalal says known configs are powered by voluntary user feedback and “aggregate technical signals.” The former appears as a feedback form after exiting a game. This form includes a star-rating system and a few other selectable options (e.g., game crashed, controller issues). Meanwhile, the latter collects details like your device’s GPU family and the FPS range for a game session.

“We then use an algorithm that weighs factors like recency, session length, and user ratings to determine the best configuration for a specific game on a specific device and GPU,” he elaborates. “That combination lets us recommend settings that actually work for your hardware — without you having to figure it out yourself.”

I have to wonder what the catch is, though. The GameNative creator outlined his monetization plans:

GameNative will always be free and open-source – that’s core to our mission of making gaming accessible to everyone. Monetization has to align with that. Currently, we’re building partnerships with game stores to help users discover and buy games directly through the platform, with a particular focus on indie titles — giving smaller developers a massive new audience they couldn’t reach before. We’re also in conversations with OEMs about deeper hardware integration that benefits users through better out-of-box performance. There are no plans for ads, user data monetization or paywalls.

This is a particularly refreshing approach, as rival apps like GameHub have been criticized for having trackers and an extensive list of permissions. In fact, Dalal adds that the open-source nature of GameNative means more people are contributing to the project, leading to faster development than with GameHub.

One of the biggest challenges with PC gaming apps and demanding emulators is that they typically work best on devices with Snapdragon chips. However, GameNative surprised us earlier this year by bringing initial support for the Pixel 10 family. That’s a big deal, as these new Pixel flagship phones use an Imagination PowerVR GPU. Unfortunately, this GPU brand is usually neglected by emulator developers. In fact, even ARM’s Mali graphics get more attention and support than PowerVR graphics. Dalal praises the open-source community and developer pipetto-crypto for this support, as it was added as part of their Mesa graphics wrapper.

How could Google make his life easier, though? Dalal looks towards Qualcomm for inspiration:

In an ideal world, Google would make their GPU drivers open-source the way Adreno drivers are supported through the community-led Turnip project in Mesa: that kind of open driver ecosystem is what allows the community to optimize and iterate quickly, and Google would benefit from that too as gaming becomes an increasingly important selling point for Android devices.

That would be a major boost for the emulation and top-end gaming community. After all, Turnip drivers are a huge reason why Snapdragon chips are the preferred platform for bleeding-edge emulation.

What if you’ve got a Samsung phone with an Exynos chipset, though? GameNative also supports the Xclipse GPU via developer pipetto-crypto’s work. However, Dalal adds that Samsung owners should expect “continued improvements” and better Exynos support as part of the app’s roadmap.

In any event, GameNative has made some major strides in such a short period of time. And the public roadmap leaves us optimistic about the future, as Dalal and the team are currently chipping away at third-party launchers, improved support for non-Steam stores, and improved game compatibility.

Even if you’re not entirely convinced that an Android device will replace your handheld PC, you might want to check in on the app periodically. Because if Dalal has his way, that day may eventually come.