OmniFeed Search

Steam Remote Play

Valve's built-in Steam feature for streaming your Steam games to the Steam Link app and other computers

Visit store.steampowered.com

Our verdict

#2 of 3 in Apps for streaming games from your PC · Easiest start for a Steam library

Pros

  • Hosts on Windows, macOS and Linux
  • The Android Steam Link app is free

Cons

  • Valve's notes mention AV1 only with the Steam beta
  • Valve's FAQ says racing wheels and flight sticks aren't supported; the Sunshine and Parsec pages we read don't mention them

Who should skip:Anyone whose games come mostly from other stores or launchers.

Read the full review →

Rankings and alternatives

Apps for streaming games from your own PC scores

Evaluated Nov 7, 2026 Evidence ↓
  • Devices you can play on 5

    5/5 means: Ten or more kinds

    The Steam Link app runs on iPhone and iPad, Apple TV, Android phones and tablets, Android TV and Fire TV, Chromebooks, Raspberry Pi, Windows, macOS, Linux and Meta Quest and Apple Vision Pro headsets, ten of the counted kinds.

  • Computers you can stream from 4

    4/5 means: Windows, macOS and Linux, none documented as experimental or beta

    Steam streams from Windows, macOS and Linux hosts, with none marked experimental.

  • Picture quality options 3

    3/5 means: Four options

    HEVC, HDR from Windows hosts, 4K configurations and automatic matching of the display resolution (up to 1080p) are documented, four of the seven options. AV1 is documented only with the Steam beta, so it doesn't count; 4:4:4 color and frame rates above 60 aren't mentioned.

    Rests partly on what the sources don't mention, which is a weaker signal than what they say.

  • Playing away from home 5

    5/5 means: Connects over the internet without router setup, and relays the stream through its own servers at no cost when a direct connection fails

    Remote Play Anywhere runs over Valve's Steam Datagram Relay network and tries a direct connection, falling back to the relay when NAT traversal fails, with no router setup and no extra cost.

  • Playing with friends 4

    4/5 means: Friends join through an invite link or a friends list, and the host sets each guest's controller, keyboard and mouse access, but only in games marked as supporting it

    Remote Play Together invites friends from your Friends List, shows them only the game, and lets you share or limit keyboard and mouse; it works in games that list Remote Play Together support.

  • Accounts and outside servers 2

    2/5 means: Needs an account; the developer's servers set up connections and can relay the stream

    You are signed in to your Steam account on both ends, and remote connections can be relayed through Valve's network.

  • Cost 5

    5/5 means: Every documented streaming feature is free

    Remote Play Together is described as free, and the pages we read list no paid streaming features; the games themselves are bought on Steam.

    Rests partly on what the sources don't mention, which is a weaker signal than what they say.

  • Graphics hardware on the host 4

    4/5 means: Software encoding on any host, with hardware encoders documented for one or two of NVIDIA, AMD and Intel

    NVIDIA and Intel hardware encoding are documented, and turning hardware encoding off leaves software encoding on the processor. The pages we read don't mention AMD encoders.

    Rests partly on what the sources don't mention, which is a weaker signal than what they say.

  • What you can stream 2

    2/5 means: Games from one store; other games and the desktop work only unofficially or as a fallback

    All Steam games stream; non-Steam games added to the library may work but aren't officially supported. Valve's FAQ mentions the desktop only as what Steam streams when a game loses focus.

Evidence and sources

Apps for streaming games from your own PC scores

Devices you can play on 6 quotes
Computers you can stream from 3 quotes
Picture quality options 5 quotes
Playing away from home 2 quotes
Playing with friends 5 quotes
  • “Using Remote Play Together, one player owns and runs the game, then up to four players — or even more with fast connections — can quickly join in the fun.”
    store.steampowered.com/remoteplay · checked
  • “From your Friends List, invite anyone to play.”
    store.steampowered.com/remoteplay · checked
  • “To keep things simple, only the game is displayed to your Friends, never your desktop or other Top Secret stuff. You can share — or limit access to — the keyboard and mouse.”
    store.steampowered.com/remoteplay · checked
  • “Remote Play Together, you can invite your Steam Friends to join your local co-op sessions remotely, without having to own or launch the game themselves.”
    help.steampowered.com/en/faqs/view/0689-74B8-92AC-10F2 · checked
  • “If a game supports Remote Play Together or has been identified as a good game for streaming to devices using the Steam Link app, that will be listed on the game's Steam store page”
    help.steampowered.com/en/faqs/view/0689-74B8-92AC-10F2 · checked
Accounts and outside servers 4 quotes
Cost 1 quote
Graphics hardware on the host 3 quotes
What you can stream 3 quotes

Facts

Runs on 8 quotes
Show all 8
Needs 3 quotes

Other quotes

Not cited by a score or fact 9 quotes
Show all 9