The possibility of running PC games on Android has taken a huge leap in recent years. What used to be a cumbersome process has now become much more accessible thanks to the direct push from Valve, the company behind Steam.
According to The Verge, the firm has been funding tools that make emulation on mobile devices easier. That technical support is already having an impact on phones as well as tablets and computers with Arm processors.
La firma viene financiando herramientas que facilitan la emulación en dispositivos móviles
Valve's contribution to the emulation ecosystem
The developer of SteamOS, Pierre-Loup Griffais, confirmed that Valve has been sponsoring Fex for some time, an open-source emulator that works together with Proton.
Both tools allow games designed for x86 hardware to run on devices with Arm architecture. This prevents studios from having to invest time in specific ports. For Griffais, "there's a better way" to solve that problem, and it's precisely the Fex + Proton combination.
How compatibility with Android works
Proton is based on Wine and translates APIs such as DirectX and DirectSound so that Arm hardware can render games without losing fidelity. Valve even developed a special version of Proton for Arm, independent from the x86 variant.
3. IA integrada para detectar estafas
GameHub: the most visible proof of progress
Ryan Houdek, Fex's leader, also publicly thanked Valve's support on the project's seventh anniversary. That work drives advances like GameHub, an emulator distributed by GameSir that already allows Steam titles to run natively on Android.
What's next for emulation
Valve confirmed to The Verge that it's working to bring SteamOS to a wider variety of Arm devices. The idea is to improve stability, add support, and eventually reach agreements with manufacturers to launch hardware based on its operating system.
