Can the ROG Phone Play PC Games? Exploring the Possibilities

If you’re a gamer who’s considering grabbing an ROG Phone 9 or ROG Phone 9 Pro, you may be wondering whether you can play PC games on the handset. The answer is yes — in essence. Here are a few options you have to get your AAA gaming fix on an ROG Phone.

Native mobile ports power peak play on the ROG Phone 9

More and more major games are releasing on both PC and mobile, offering largely similar experiences across the two platforms. This includes popular titles like Genshin Impact, Infinity Nikki, Honkai: Star Rail, Stardew Valley, Dead Cells, and many more. So long as you have a phone with hardware capable of playing the games’ mobile ports, you can get a respectable translation of the PC experience on the go. Delivering these experiences is where the ROG Phone 9 shines brightest. Thanks to its Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, beefy RAM, sizeable storage capacity, gorgeous E6 AMOLED display, and up to 185 Hz refresh rate, it has the specs to handle the latest, greatest blockbuster titles with excellent fidelity and framerates.

The ROG Phone also packs special features to give you a richer experience that helps blur the line between PC and mobile. The phone’s AirTrigger technology offers customizable, controller-esque precision input, as though your phone has a proper gamepad’s shoulder buttons. For the biggest games, we pre-map and optimize these AirTriggers, meaning you can dive into the fun without having to futz. You also get an extra charging port on the side of the phone, which allows you to power the phone while playing without cables getting in the way of your hand.

On the software side, the ROG Phone 9’s hefty suite of AI features can automatically perform mundane in-game tasks for you — like picking up items or leveling up your skills — similar to macros that help PC players accelerate their gaming. The ROG Phone 9’s AI can even detect imagery on your screen and react to it, such as highlighting spawn points so you can respond faster than other players.

Harness the cloud and game remotely with the ROG Phone 9

Plenty of PC games without bespoke mobile ports are still perfectly playable and enjoyable on the ROG Phone thanks to cloud streaming and in-home remote play. Just be sure to grab an ROG Tessen mobile controller so you can properly play the titles that haven’t been designed with mobile device touch controls in mind.

Xbox Cloud Gaming and Xbox Remote Play

Xbox Cloud Gaming gives you the ability to stream games from the Xbox store directly to your phone, meaning if you’ve been dying to play a smash-hit game like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 on the go, you can. All you’ll need is an Xbox Game Pass subscription (certain tiers may offer a wider game selection than others), a stable internet connection, your ROG Phone, and your ROG Tessen. The steps to get playing are simple:

• Go to Xbox’s cloud gaming site.
• Sign in with a Microsoft account packing a Game Pass subscription.
• Choose the game you want to play from Xbox’s library of supported titles.

Xbox also offers Remote Play if you own an Xbox console, allowing you to stream titles from your library to your ROG Phone with no fuss:

• Enable remote features in the settings menu of your Xbox console.
• Head to your Xbox console's “Profile & System” menu, select “Settings,” then “General.” From there, choose “Power Options,” and under “Power Mode,” you'll find an "Instant-On" option.
• Set your console’s power mode to “Instant-On” so you can wake it remotely.
• Sign into the Xbox app on your ROG Phone using the same account as on your Xbox console.
• In the Xbox app, select your console and tap the “Remote play on this device” option.

That's all it takes — no downloads or lengthy installations required.

NVIDIA GeForce NOW

NVIDIA’s GeForce NOW service is another great option for streaming to your ROG Phone, particularly if you already own a number of games on popular PC platforms like Steam, Epic Games, or Ubisoft Connect, allowing you to play PC-crushing, heavyweight games like Alan Wake 2 on your ROG Phone in all their graphical glory. To get started:

• Download NVIDIA’s GeForce NOW app to your ROG Phone and sign into your NVIDIA account.
• Link the GeForce Now app to the accounts where you own PC games.
• Supported titles you own will be available to stream in the “My Library” section of the GeForce NOW app.

Just make sure you have your ROG Tessen handy for controlling the action. GeForce NOW has a free tier if you want to trial-run cloud gaming on your phone before paying for a superior streaming experience.

Steam

Steam offers a way to directly stream games from your own PC, either over the internet or on your local network:

• Download the Steam Link app on your ROG Phone.
• Make sure your phone and PC are logged into the same Steam account, then open the Steam Link app and select your PC from the list.
• Enter the PIN from the Steam Link app on your PC to bind the devices.

With Steam Link, you can play your Steam games on your phone, even if your PC is on the other side of the house. It also gives you access to your PC when you’re out and can’t lug a monster rig around with you.

These are three popular, mainstream methods to get your favorite PC titles onto your ROG Phone, but for tech-savvy mobile gamers, even more options abound. When you have an ROG Phone and an ROG Tessen mobile controller, you have the means to play thousands of PC titles with ease.

This versatility also means you can use your ROG Phone as a mini console. Output the phone screen to a sizeable TV or gaming monitor, then play cloud-streamed games with a wireless controller such as the ROG Raikiri Pro. Thanks to the ROG Phone’s two USB-C ports, you can do TV output and charging at the same time.

ROG Phone vs gaming laptop: Can a gaming phone replace your PC?

The ROG Phone 9 is the best gaming phone for PC games thanks to its incredible hardware and extra gaming-centric features. So, if you're asking yourself, “Can an ROG Phone replace a gaming laptop?” the answer is yes — depending on what you like to play. If you only care about ultra-mainstream titles like Fortnite and Genshin Impact, you can get away with exclusively playing their mobile ports. And you’ll have the benefits of a smartphone, including unrivaled portability and convenience.

Because the ROG Phone supports services like Xbox Cloud Gaming and GeForce Now, it’s also good for many AAA games without proper mobile ports. Just have an ROG Tessen handy for in-game inputs and you’re set.

However, when it comes to gaming smartphones vs gaming laptops, there are times you’ll want a proper laptop or desktop. Some PC titles aren’t streamable or are otherwise entirely incompatible with mobile gaming, meaning a PC will be the only way to play those games. For example, many PC games require a proper keyboard and mouse setup. And other titles, like Baldur’s Gate 3, are technically playable via services like GeForce NOW, but feature so much on-screen information that you’ll benefit from the larger screen of a laptop or desktop. When playing on mobile, you don’t just want a game that works — you want a game that suits the form factor.

In that sense, a gaming phone and gaming laptop are companions rather than competitors — offering you two distinct playstyles for different scenarios, giving you the best of both worlds.

That said, if you need a small gaming beast that bridges the gap between the ROG Phone and a gaming laptop, consider the ROG Ally X or the ROG Xbox Ally. These Windows-powered handhelds are smaller than a traditional gaming laptop and natively plays most PC games on the market, making it an ideal pick for gamers who are serious about PC gaming on the go — even games like the aforementioned Baldur’s Gate 3. (And you can plug the Ally into a monitor, mouse, and keyboard using the ROG Bulwark dock for the full PC experience when you want to.)

How to optimize your ROG Phone 9 for peak gaming

If you’re wondering how to get the best AAA gaming experience from your ROG Phone, good news: the phone’s designed to play well right out of the box. So head over to your app store of choice, download your favorite titles, and get playing.

With that being said, you can optimize things a bit further by making the most of the phone’s extra gaming features. If you open Armoury Crate on your ROG Phone, you can toggle X Mode for ultimate performance, customize how your phone displays on the screen, and more. In Armoury Crate, you can download profiles we’ve made for the most popular games, giving you a fine-tuned ROG Phone experience that optimizes frame rates, power efficiency, and thermals. And with Armoury Crate’s Scenario Profiles feature, you can lock in custom settings for each of your games, ensuring you get a fully customized experience every time you boot up your favorite titles.

Armoury Crate also lets you customize the ROG Phone’s many Game Genie features, including the new AI features that streamline your gaming on the ROG Phone 9. Game Genie is the virtual control center from which you can quickly access many of the ROG Phone’s greatest utilities. You can set it to automatically turn off notifications while you game to eliminate disturbances, lock screen brightness, and more. With each setting dialed in perfectly, you’ll have the ultimate gaming experience in your pocket at all times. Check the links below to pick up the ROG Phone 9 today, or, if you're willing to forego the latest chip and new AI features, the ROG Phone 8 makes for killer gaming as well. 

Model	Where to Buy (US)
ROG Phone 9	Mobile Advance
ROG Phone 9 Pro	Micro Center Mobile Advance
ROG Phone 8	ASUS Newegg Mobile Advance
ROG Phone 8 Pro	ASUS Newegg Micro Center Mobile Advance