Google Chrome: Enjoy the best Android apps and games from today, here's how

Leaps and bounds continue to be made in the world of cloud computing and this latest advance will help millions of Android device owners enjoy Google Chrome even more. Android users hoping to trade in their phone’s tiny screen for something bigger have been given a new way to make use of the Google Play Store’s extensive library of free games while on their desktop computer. A new announcement today by tech company BlueStacks has confirmed that Android users can now play their favourite games using an easy to download app or by accessing the Bluestacks x cloud services via the Google Chrome browser.

This second option – named BlueStacks X – is very new and currently only offers a limited number of compatible games and apps. But this small list is set to expand over the coming weeks and months, with many games to be included in the final group.

It works by leaving all the serious computing power to another device before streaming all the important data via the internet to your computer or laptop, essentially processing everything needed to run the game via a cloud.

The big thing to note here is that running Bluestacks X via your Chrome browser means you don’t need to download your game, wait for it to install updates or face annoying compatibility issues.

A message from Bluestacks explains further, telling its new users: “One of the benefits of cloud gaming is that, just like with other platforms like XCloud or Stadia, the rendering and processing of the game itself isn’t handled by the user’s device, but elsewhere on a server, and instead the user is accessing a streaming version of the game through the internet.

“For BlueStacks X, this means that our cloud-based app player is platform-agnostic, which lets you play it on literally any device.

“Whether you’re at home chilling on your laptop or desktop, or tablet, or you’re out and about fiddling on your phone, you can access any and every mobile game in our catalog on any device, and pick up from where you left off.

“Additionally, BlueStacks X is available on any OS so you can play it regardless of whether you’re on Mac, Windows, or Linux.”

The normal version of Bluestacks also makes it possible to access your favourite app and games from your desktop but requires you to download and install the official app, as well as run them from your computer.

“If you’re playing locally on your PC or phone, you’d need to consider various aspects about your hardware specifications, including the amount of RAM, as well as the number of cores and frequencies of your CPU, which is something most users won’t want to bother with. However, since you’re not actually rendering or processing anything locally when playing on BlueStacks X, you can essentially enjoy any game with the best graphical and performance settings, regardless of your hardware, and without actually using as much RAM and CPU, compared to running the games locally.”

BlueStacks X is the only cloud gaming service that offers free streaming of mobile games across all compatible devices.

Bluestacks is currently supported by ads but none of these have been designed to interrupt or affect your game time, making for a great new option for those hoping to ditch their phone’s small screen for something bigger.

source: express.co.uk