Hadlee Simons / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Two of the key developers behind the Cassia app have announced that they’ve quit working on it.
- The app, which was scheduled to launch later this year, would allow you to play PC games on your Android device.
- That means you’ll need to use existing apps like Mobox or Winlator if you want to play PC titles on your smartphone or tablet.
There are loads of great emulators on Android, but arguably the most eagerly anticipated app in this regard was Cassia. This was a translation layer of sorts that would allow Android users to run PC games on their devices, promising greater performance and a more user-friendly approach than some rival apps.
Unfortunately, two of the main developers behind the app have decided to quit work on Cassia, citing a change in their personal circumstances (i.e. university and other personal commitments).
Developer @Mark confirmed that the duo’s existing work would be free and open source, adding that they’d continue to work on the “underlying infrastructure” behind the app.
“While all of this work will help achieve the goal of ultimate Cassia, we’re personally not going to work on an app that puts everything together as it’s far too much extra work to create and maintain with our current obligations,” the developer explained.
How to play PC games on Android now?
In any event, Cassia wouldn’t be the first app that ran PC games on Android. Apps like Mobox and Winlator (seen in the featured image) have all been released in the last year or two, with varying levels of performance and compatibility. Winlator is arguably the most user-friendly app of the lot, and our own hands-on last year revealed a relatively intuitive setup process but limited game compatibility even with older titles. Meanwhile, apps like Mobox seemed to offer much better compatibility and performance but a more involved setup process.
Nevertheless, we hope other developers pick up this baton and bring Cassia to life. We’d love to see a performant and user-friendly way to play PC games on Android.
News of Cassia’s shuttering also comes after several Android emulators were shut down in the last year or so. Casualties include the Skyline, Yuzu, and Strato emulators for Switch, Citra for 3DS, and AetherSX2 for PS2.