Have you ever wanted to play Team Fortress or PlanetSide 2 on your Android device? Well, there is no way to do that, unless you’re looking to play Team Fortress Classic on your Android device. However, you could stream these games from your computer to your Android device.
Currently, the most popular method used to stream games to Android is some combination of limelight and Nvidia’s Game Stream. The unfortunate thing is that Nvidia’s game stream requires you to have a 600 series card or better. This leaves many of the older GPU’s out of option including a lot of laptop GPU. So instead, we are going to use a streaming app called KinoConsole. While the performance is not as marvelous as Nvidia’s Game stream, it still works really well and is something that you can still enjoy. Here’s how to stream Steam games to Android.
What You Will Need:
- KinoConsole for Desktop
- KinoConsole for Mobile
Step 1: Download and Install
First download and install KinoConsole on your desktop. When you launch it, go to the connection tab and setup your password. Then go to the Quick Launch tab. Click the button to scan installed games. It should automatically detect your steam games and any other games that you have installed. Finally, go to the advanced tab and make sure that Xbox Controller emulation is enabled.
**A note to Windows 8 users. I had to install the Xbox 360 peripherals driver in order to get emulation working. You might have to do the same. You can download it here. (Choose the one for Windows 7).
Step 2: Android
On your Android device, open the KinoConsole app. Make sure your phone is on the same wifi network as your pc. It should automatically detect the pc that has KinoConsole running. Sign in with the password you created early. Finally, choose a game and it should launch.
Dealing with Controls
The one big annoyance with this app is the touchscreen controls. To add a control, hit the back button and select edit controls. Unfortunately, not every game will work with the Xbox controls. Also, it’s really frustrating trying to play a game made for a mouse and keyboard with joystick controls. Of course, if you have a bluetooth controller you can connect it to your Android device. Unfortunately, using a keyboard vis OTG doesn’t work.