Hester

By Hester / Last Updated May 9, 2023

Can you play PC Steam games on iPad?

 

I've been trying to figure out how to play PC Steam games on my iPad. Can anybody tell me how to play Steam games on iPad without PC?”

- Question from Steam Forum

steam game ipad

How to play Steam games on iPad without PC

How to play Steam games without PC on an iPad? Steam Link app provides you with a great way to enjoy playing your PC Steam games on your iPad by sling the game library. We will start by telling you what you’ll need before you hop into a game.

Things you need to prepare:

☛ A host computer. Your host computer could be an iMac or MacBook, or a PC running either Windows or Linux. No matter what the system is, Steam needs to be installed on it as well.
☛ A reliable network. The network configuration should be at least 5GHz. (a 6GHz router is preferable) Besides, your iPad also needs to be on that same network.
☛ An iOS device. The final hardware requirement is an iOS device running iOS 11.0 or later.
☛ A controller. Your gaming experience can be streamlined if you have a Steam controller or an MFi wireless controller. If not, you can also use touch controls.

When you are well-prepared, let’s walk through the steps of how to play PC games on iPad without PC.

Part 1. Enable Steam Streaming on your PC

Steam Link configuration begins on the host computer. You need to enable streaming for the first time.

Step 1. Open Steam on your remote computer. In the top left corner, click Steam > Settings.

steam settings

Step 2. Click In-Home Streaming in the left menu, then click Enable streaming.

steam enable streaming

Step 3. Click ADVANCED HOST OPTIONS after that. Check Use NVFBC capture on NVIDIA GPU if your remote PC has an Nvidia graphics card. Select Prioritize network traffic if desired, then click OK.

steam advanced host options

In the In-Home Streaming interface, you can also configure client preferences. Choose from Fast, Balanced, or Beautiful for the Android device's performance.

Additionally, from ADVANCED CLIENT OPTIONS, you can customize the speakers, enable hardware decoding, set a bandwidth or resolution limit, and display performance data. (These options can later be modified in the Steam Link app as well.)

steam client options

Part 2. How to play Steam games without PC via Steam Link

Next, we'll walk you through operating Steam Link on an iPad. Make that both of your devices are linked to the same network before performing any actions. If you keep your iPad close to the router, the results will be better.

Step 1. Install the latest Steam Link app from App Store to your iPad, and make sure your host PC is on and running Steam.

ipad steam link

Step 2. Open the software and click Get Started.

ipad steam link get started

Step 3. Select whether you want to pair a Controller or use touch control. You can Skip it if your controller is already paired.

ipad steam link pair controller

Step 4. Then your host computer should be visible on the interface. If it isn’t, check the PC’s firewall settings and verify that both devices are on the same network, and then tap Rescan. You can also click Other Computer and follow the on-screen instruction to manually connect to your computer.

ipad steam link connect computer

Step 5. Tap the target computer, then you will see a four-digit PIN. Enter this number in the Steam prompt on the remote computer and then click OK.

steam link enter pin

Step 6. Once successfully paired, the software will test the network connection between your devices. Tap OK when the test completes.

steam link network test

Step 7. On the main interface, tap Start Playing to get started. (The host computer will then start Steam Big Picture Mode. Your iPad will be in charge of your computer screen until you end the connection.)

ipad steam link start playing

Step 8. Then you can see a touch controls tutorial, click Continue.

ipad steam link touch controls

Step 9. Select your Library, and then you can launch the Steam games installed on your host computer.

steam link library

Bonus tip: How to play multiple PC games on iPad without PC

Steam Link only allows users to run Steam games on iPad at a limited distance. Besides, there are a lot of requirements that need to be met before using this app on your iPad. Is there any easier way to play multiple PC games including Steam games without restrictions? Sure! The remote access software AnyViewer could be the best choice for you.

It supports remote connection over the Internet, which means you can play PC games anywhere on your iPad without a PC.
 It is secure. It adopts the ECC algorithm for end-to-end encryption to protect data security.
 It supports unattended remote access on the same account without entering a PIN.
 In addition to playing PC games, you can also perform other remote tasks via AnyViewer. For example, run Windows apps on iPad, view screen, etc.
 It offers multiple user-friendly options, for example, you can change the image quality, change resolution, etc.
 It has an Android version, you can play PC games without a PC by remotely controlling Windows computer from Android.

Then follow the next steps on how to play PC games on iPad via AnyViewer.

Part 1. Set up AnyViewer on the remote computer

To begin with, you need to set up AnyViewer on your remote computer.

Step 1. Download AnyViewer on your Windows computer, install, and open it after that.

Download Freeware Win 11/10/8.1/8/7/Server
Secure Download

Step 2. Go to Log in and click Sign up. (Log in directly if you have already signed up.)

log in anyviewer

Step 3. Fill in the information and click Sign up.

sign up for anyviewer

Step 4. When you logged in to AnyViewer successfully, you can see the assigned devices.

free editions

Part 2. Achieve unattended remote access on the iPad

Then you can play PC games by achieving unattended remote access on the iPad.

Step 1. Download, install, and open AnyViewer for iOS on your iPad.

Download Freeware iOS 10.0 or later
Secure Download

Step 2. Log in to the same account you registered on the computer.

log in to anyviewer ipad

Step 3. Go to Device and tap the target remote computer.

my device ipad

Step 4. Tap One-click control icon to connect to your remote PC.

remote control ipad

Step 5. Then you can play PC games on your iPad.

play pc games ipad

Wrapping up

This post introduces how to play Steam games on iPad without PC. You can use Steam Link to do this job by streaming the PC Steam games. However, the limitations are that both your devices should be connected to the same network, which means you can not use this app far from the computer. Besides, it requires strong Internet. Therefore, to remotely play multiple PC games everywhere you want, try AnyViewer.