Gaming on Android has taken huge steps in recent years. Going beyond the more casual free to play titles that do well in the Play Store, we've seen phones and dedicated systems able to emulate 3DS, Switch, and more recently even Wii U games. That isn't where it stops though, with PC game emulation becoming more and more mainstream. Originally only available via apps like Winlator that required huge amounts of tweaking and DRM-free titles to be installed, Android users are now able to make use of simple frontends to access their existing PC gaming library.

GameNative is my personal app of choice for this, providing a clean interface that not only lets you access your Steam library, but also syncs your cloud saves to make the experience as seamless as possible. If there was one thing holding it back, it was that it didn't support achievements. At least until version 0.8.1 launched at the end of last week. Along with a slurry of bug fixes, GameNative users will now be able to unlock achievements as if playing on a standard PC setup, with these syncing to your Steam account without issue. With this ultimately still being emulation on Android, not every game is going to work perfectly, but it's a free to download app that you'll likely be surprised with if you do decide to give it a shot.

The full changelog, as well as the APK installable, can be found on their GitHub releases.

GameNative Download

 

[Ericzander]

God damn it this is absolutely horrible news.

... I'm already addicted to PSN trophies and I've thus far been able to resist the temptation to install Retroachievements or care about Steam achievements.

And you're testing me.

 

[Reploid]

never heard of it

 

[SDA]

never heard of it

At least you didn't rant about it unlike in the other thread. (I'll be honest, what you said there wasn't nice at all.)

 

[RAHelllord]

never heard of it

It's fairly new, but is quickly becoming the best option to play windows games on android. It's been pretty stable for me so far, and thankfully setup is really just install the app, give the one permission it needs, and then you just log in and download your games.
You can fiddle with a lot of settings but in a lot of cases just using the suggested config for you game works perfectly.

 

[x65943]

steam should either purchase this company (if it's made by a company) or roll out its own android frontend

they are leaving money on the table here

 

[Scarlet]

steam should either purchase this company or roll out its own android frontend

they are leaving money on the table here

They're doing something close to that with the Steam Frame at least, with it running a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3.

 

[x65943]

They're doing something close to that with the Steam Frame at least, with it running a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3.

but imagine if the steam client ran natively on all android devices with emulation in place for games

I'm not sure other mobile platforms could compete

 

[Willgheminass]

I can complete all my achievements for Psychonauts on the go with my AYN Thor with this. Yipeee!

(once my Thor arrives that is)

 

[ChibiMofo]

What a wonderful world we live in now! I mean forget about fascism, inflation, tarrifs and war, we have participation trophies and for those who cannot achieve anything in real life, we now have achievements in Steam!

No better substitute for self-esteem than Achievements in Steam™

 

[x65943]

What a wonderful world we live in now! I mean forget about fascism, inflation, tarrifs and war, we have participation trophies and for those who cannot achieve anything in real life, we now have achievements in Steam!

No better substitute for self-esteem than Achievements in Steam™

You must be very excited!!

Now you went to highschool with someone cool AND can get a participation trophy

 

[Xzi]

but imagine if the steam client ran natively on all android devices with emulation in place for games

I'm not sure other mobile platforms could compete

I'd be very surprised if that wasn't the plan in the long term. SteamOS support for all PCs and Android systems.

 

[SecureBoot]

This is sick. Still hoping the steam frame brings a valve supported version of this to android. If they never do, GameNative is more than good enough

 

[bootmonster]

Do achievements earned offline unlock and sync when online next?

 

[Winduss]

What a wonderful world we live in now! I mean forget about fascism, inflation, tarrifs and war, we have participation trophies and for those who cannot achieve anything in real life, we now have achievements in Steam!

No better substitute for self-esteem than Achievements in Steam™

What... does this have to do with anything?? Would you rather sit in a hole every day locked away from this 'horrible' world, or would at least try to have a little fun in it while it lasts.
Memento mori vs. Carpe diem.

 

[MarkDarkness]

We truly live in the future.

Post automatically merged: Mar 21, 2026

What a wonderful world we live in now! I mean forget about fascism, inflation, tarrifs and war, we have participation trophies and for those who cannot achieve anything in real life, we now have achievements in Steam!

No better substitute for self-esteem than Achievements in Steam™

Welcome to the real world. The world was always like this, but now that it affects your little American-European reality you feel the need to boo-hoo on the Internet and bemoan people for carrying on as they always did. No, actually, let me course-correct: you are 100% from the U.S. You people learned yesterday that inflation exists and never really got over it. Again, welcome to the actual world. And can you believe it: we have been doing just fine playing our games and living our lives all this time while you had your perfect little American Exceptionalism reality to contemplate. Now get real, get in line, and go enjoy video games like a normal person. You'll soon realize that bitching and brooding changes nothing.

 

[Scarlet]

guys this is a gaming and tech forum, we're not covering "fascism, inflation, tarrifs and war" on the front page

move on

 

[HideoKojima]

A game is not a checklist, it is a cinematic experience. When we obsess over online rankings or the 100% completion mark, we become slaves to the system's design rather than participants in its soul. The digital trophy is an illusion that distracts from the true narrative. To be "casual"..to simply sit with a story and let it change your perspective is the highest form of the medium. Don't look at the progress bar. Look at the horizon....

 

[SecureBoot]

A game is not a checklist, it is a cinematic experience. When we obsess over online rankings or the 100% completion mark, we become slaves to the system's design rather than participants in its soul. The digital trophy is an illusion that distracts from the true narrative. To be "casual"..to simply sit with a story and let it change your perspective is the highest form of the medium. Don't look at the progress bar. Look at the horizon....

Or just let people enjoy things the way they want to. People like checklists

 

[HideoKojima]

Or just let people enjoy things the way they want to. People like checklists

Do you know who I am?