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| Resident Evil Requiem PC version launched on Android phone using GameHub emulator with controller attachment. |
In a stunning display of modern emulation, a tech YouTuber has managed to get Capcom’s latest survival horror hit, Resident Evil Requiem, running natively on an Android smartphone—and the frame rates are shockingly high.
It has only been a short while since Resident Evil Requiem slunk its way onto PC and consoles, terrifying players with its claustrophobic corridors and grotesque new enemies. Typically, a game of this graphical caliber is strictly confined to gaming desktops, the Steam Deck, or the latest Xbox and PlayStation consoles.
However, the modding and emulation community doesn’t believe in boundaries. Just days after we saw the game coaxed into running on MacBooks and Linux distros, a new frontier has been breached: Android smartphones.
YouTube channel ETA Prime has published a fascinating test demonstrating the PC version of Resident Evil Requiem running locally on a phone—not via cloud streaming, but through the magic of Windows emulation on ARM architecture.
The Hardware: A Powerhouse in Your Pocket
To achieve this level of performance, you can’t just use any old device. The test was conducted using the RedMagic 11 Pro, a gaming phone we reviewed last year that continues to impress with its raw specs.
The star of the show is the internal cooling and the chipset: the flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. But hardware alone isn't enough. To bridge the gap between the x86 architecture of the PC version and the ARM architecture of the phone, the tester utilized GameHub, an application that acts as a compatibility layer, allowing Windows games from platforms like Steam to be launched directly from an Android environment.
Performance Analysis: Smooth Indoors, Rough Outdoors
So, how does a game designed for RTX graphics cards handle the move to a mobile screen? Surprisingly well, actually.
According to the video, the game boots with minimal tinkering. To get playable frame rates, the settings were dialed back to 720p with low graphical presets. To help with the visual fidelity, AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR 3.1) was enabled and set to "Performance" mode, which renders the game at a lower resolution internally and upscales it smartly.
The results are a tale of two environments:
- Indoor & Corridor Gameplay: As you might expect from a Resident Evil title, a lot of the action takes place in tight hallways and small rooms. In these areas, the RedMagic 11 Pro absolutely sings. With the frame rate uncapped, the game frequently hovered between 60 and 70 FPS. In the smallest, most enclosed spaces, the counter even spiked to a jaw-dropping 100 FPS.
- Outdoor & Open Sections: When the game forces players into larger environments with complex draw distances and more enemies on screen, the hardware begins to sweat. Performance in these sections dropped to a consistent, but still very playable, 40 to 45 FPS.
Watch the full test on ETA Prime's YouTube channel.
The Heat is On: Thermals and Power Draw
Pushing a PC game through an emulation layer on a phone generates a lot of heat. The RedMagic 11 Pro was placed into its "Rise" performance mode, which aggressively clocks the CPU and GPU higher than standard settings.
Despite the device's built-in cooling fan and internal liquid cooling, the video notes that thermal throttling is inevitable during sustained gameplay. Emulating x86 instructions on the fly is incredibly taxing; the Snapdragon chip was observed drawing well over 20 watts of power just to keep the horror running.
Why 16GB of RAM is the New Standard
The test also highlights a growing trend in the smartphone industry: the necessity of massive RAM amounts.
The RedMagic device used in the demo features 16GB of RAM, and the creator notes that this is likely the "sweet spot" for this kind of heavy emulation. While devices with 12GB might be able to boot the game, they would likely struggle with stuttering. The consensus is that phones with only 8GB of RAM need not apply for Resident Evil Requiem—at least, not yet.
The Future of Mobile Gaming
While this experiment is incredible, it’s important to keep it in perspective. For the average user, this is far from a replacement for dedicated handheld PCs like the Steam Deck or ASUS ROG Ally. The setup requires technical know-how, and the thermal output is intense.
However, this test serves as a powerful proof of concept. It demonstrates just how quickly ARM-based processors are catching up to their x86 counterparts. As ETA Prime suggests in the video, if rumors of Valve exploring ARM-based hardware initiatives prove true, we could see a massive acceleration in x86-to-ARM translation tools. If that happens, the line between "phone" and "gaming PC" is going to get very blurry, very fast.
For now, being chased by zombies in Resident Evil Requiem on a phone is an impressive—and terrifying—reality.
Source: ETA Prime via YouTube
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| Resident Evil Requiem gameplay running on Android via PC emulation using a mobile gaming controller. |
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| Resident Evil Requiem gameplay running on Android via PC emulation showing over 100 FPS performance. |
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| Resident Evil Requiem running on Android via PC emulation showing outdoor gameplay performance around 45 FPS. |