Apple TV gaming: play real PC games

You can play PC games on an Apple TV today. Not mobile ports: your own Steam, Epic and GOG library, running on a full Windows PC in the cloud. Shadow PC has a native tvOS app, from tvOS 14 up. That matters more than it sounds, because no other cloud gaming service has one. GeForce Now, Xbox Cloud Gaming, Amazon Luna and Boosteroid all ship on other TV platforms and skip Apple's. Install the app, pair a controller, and the box under your TV becomes a gaming PC.

What an Apple TV can actually run

Apple TV runs games. Arcade titles, App Store games, family evenings on a controller. What it does not run is a modern PC game, and the reason is structural rather than commercial.

A tvOS app is capped at 4 GB of install size and 500 KB of persistent storage. A current AAA game weighs thirty to forty times that. Apple's own Games app has not landed on tvOS either, and its porting toolkit skips the platform.

So the box has the silicon and it has the screen. It has no way to hold the games. Unless the game never lands on it at all.

Cloud gaming on Apple TV, service by service

GeForce Now

No tvOS app. NVIDIA's 2026 platform releases went to Linux and Amazon Fire TV. Apple TV was not on the list.

Xbox Cloud Gaming

No tvOS app either, although Microsoft ships one for Fire TV and for LG and Samsung sets.

Amazon Luna and Boosteroid

Both run on Fire TV, LG or Android TV. Neither has an Apple TV app.

Third-party bridges

Companion apps and community clients exist, and they do work. They also need a second device, and nobody supports them.

Four ways to play on an Apple TV, one real PC

Shadow PC compared with cloud gaming services, console remote play and native Apple TV games
	Shadow PC	Cloud gaming services	Console remote play	Native tvOS games
Native Apple TV app	Shadow PC Available	Cloud gaming services Not available	Console remote play Available	Native tvOS games Available
What you play	Shadow PC Your whole PC library	Cloud gaming services A service catalog	Console remote play Your console library	Native tvOS games tvOS and Arcade titles
Machine needed at home	Shadow PC None	Cloud gaming services None	Console remote play Your console, powered on	Native tvOS games None
Install size limit	Shadow PC None, it is a PC	Cloud gaming services None	Console remote play None	Native tvOS games 4 GB per app
Your launchers, mods and saves	Shadow PC Available	Cloud gaming services Not available	Console remote play Not available	Native tvOS games Not available
Same machine on your other screens	Shadow PC Available	Cloud gaming services Not available	Console remote play Not available	Native tvOS games Not available

Cloud gaming services: GeForce Now, Xbox Cloud Gaming, Amazon Luna, Boosteroid. Console remote play: PXPlay, OneCast and similar apps.

A Windows PC, on the box you already own

Shadow PC is not a catalog. It is a Windows machine with your name on it, running in a datacenter on a dedicated NVIDIA RTX-class GPU.

Install Steam, Epic, GOG, Battle.net, whichever launcher you live in. Keep your saves, your mods, your settings. Pull an 80 GB game down the datacenter's 1 Gbps line while you cook dinner. Around thirty titles with strict anti-cheat systems will not run, and the current list lives in our help center.

Close the app on the Apple TV. Open it on your Mac tomorrow. Same desktop, same downloads, right where you left them.

Play on Mac

Playing from the sofa

A controller pairs with the Apple TV itself, over Bluetooth, the way it would for any tvOS game. Xbox pads, PlayStation pads, most third-party ones.

No controller in the house tonight? The Shadow mobile app turns your phone into one. And when Windows asks for a cursor or a password, Companion mode makes that same phone a trackpad and a keyboard.

Nothing to buy before you start. We covered every input in its own guide.

Control Windows from your couch

Pick the plan for your living room

Both plans run your full PC library on your Apple TV. Power adds the headroom for 4K sets and the heaviest evenings.

Keep going

Control Windows from your couch

Every way to drive a PC from three metres away: controller, phone as trackpad, phone as gamepad.

See how

Get the most out of Apple TV

Settings, controllers and tips for Shadow PC on tvOS, in one guide.

Read the guide

Play on Mac

The same Shadow PC turns your Mac into a gaming rig. Same library, same saves.

Play on Mac

The box under your TV is enough

Install the app, pair a controller, and your PC library is on the big screen tonight.

Try Shadow PC

Frequently asked questions

Can you play PC games on an Apple TV?

Yes. Install the Shadow PC app on an Apple TV running tvOS 14 or later, sign in, and your Windows PC in the cloud appears on the TV. Your Steam, Epic, GOG and Battle.net libraries run there, on a dedicated RTX-class GPU. Nothing installs on the Apple TV itself, so the 4 GB app limit never comes into play.

Is GeForce Now available on Apple TV?

No. NVIDIA has no tvOS app for GeForce Now; its 2026 platform releases went to Linux and Amazon Fire TV. On Apple TV, Shadow PC is currently the only cloud gaming app you can install directly, and it gives you a full Windows machine rather than a catalog.

Is Xbox Cloud Gaming available on Apple TV?

No. Microsoft ships Xbox Cloud Gaming on Fire TV and on LG and Samsung televisions, but not on tvOS. Getting it onto an Apple TV means going through a browser or a second device.

Which Apple TV do I need, and which tvOS version?

Any Apple TV running tvOS 14 or later. A wired Ethernet connection is best; 5 GHz Wi-Fi works well. Full requirements live in our help center.

Which controllers work with Shadow on Apple TV?

Bluetooth controllers pair with the Apple TV itself: Xbox pads, PlayStation pads and most third-party gamepads. If you don't have one, the Shadow mobile app turns your phone into a controller, and Companion mode turns it into a trackpad and keyboard.

Do I need a gaming PC at home?

No, and that is what separates this from Steam Link, PXPlay or OneCast. Those stream from a machine you already own and keep powered on. Shadow PC is the machine, and it lives in a datacenter.