These buttons open the developer's own site, repository or store listing in a new tab. wares.gg does not host downloads.
1 more ways to get Shadow
Package managers
- Homebrew
brew install --cask shadow
About Shadow
Shadow rents you a complete Windows PC running in a data centre and streams it to whatever device you have. Because it is a full Windows installation rather than a game catalogue, you can install games from Steam, Epic, Battle.net or elsewhere, along with mods, tools and ordinary Windows applications.
Client apps are available for Windows, macOS, Linux, phones, tablets and Android TV, and it also works in a browser. It suits people who want to run Windows games on a Mac or a low-powered machine without buying gaming hardware.
Strengths
- Full Windows PC, so any launcher, mod or app can be installed
- Clients for most desktop and mobile platforms plus a browser
- RTX graphics with DLSS support
- Lets Mac users play Windows games
Limitations
- Ongoing subscription cost
- Needs a fast, stable internet connection
- Your Windows machine lives on someone else's servers
Details
- Pricing
- PaidPaid subscription; the homepage showed a discount offer.
- License
- Proprietary
- Developer
- Shadow
- Platforms
- Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, Web
- How it runs
- Downloadable app, Web application, Hosted service
- Account
- Required
- Works offline
- No
- Best suited for
- Playing Windows games or running Windows software on a Mac or low-powered device
- Categories
- Remote desktop, Gaming tools
- Last verified
- Added
- Provenance
- Facts checked against the developer's own pages and store listings, 1 sources on file.
Alternatives to Shadow
Compare allSoftware that can replace Shadow for an important use case, and what changes if you switch.
Parsec
A low-latency remote desktop app for reaching a work or gaming computer from another device.
Parsec streams your own Windows or macOS computer at up to 4K and 60 fps with low latency, rather than renting a cloud PC by subscription.
Sunshine
The open source host that replaced NVIDIA GameStream, so Moonlight can stream from any PC.
Sunshine is a free GPL-3.0 host that streams games from your own PC to Moonlight clients, requiring hardware you own instead of a subscription.
Moonlight
Streams games from a gaming PC to another device on your network, with hardware decoding and a gamepad.
Moonlight is a free GPL-3.0 game streaming client with hardware decoding and HDR, but needs your own Sunshine host rather than a cloud PC.
Apollo
A Sunshine fork for self-hosted game and desktop streaming at the client device's native resolution.
Apollo is a free GPL-3.0 Sunshine fork for streaming from your own Windows PC at the client's native resolution, needing a compatible client.
Amazon DCV
A remote display protocol and server for streaming graphics-intensive desktops and applications to client devices.
Amazon DCV streams graphics-intensive desktops from EC2 or your own data center at no extra charge on EC2, aimed at business workloads.
Kasm Workspaces
Container streaming platform that delivers desktops, applications and isolated browsers to a web browser.
Kasm Workspaces streams container-based desktops and apps to a browser from a server you run, aimed at organisations and homelabs rather than Windows gaming.
Shadow as an alternative
Listings that name Shadow as an alternative.
Boosteroid
A cloud gaming service that streams PC games you already own to many devices.
Shadow streams a full Windows PC instead of a supported game catalog, so any launcher, mod or app can be installed, for an ongoing subscription cost.
GeForce NOW
NVIDIA's cloud gaming service that streams your existing game library to weaker hardware.
Shadow streams a full Windows PC by subscription, so any launcher, mod or app can be installed rather than only supported titles.
Porting Kit
A macOS app that installs Windows games and applications on a Mac using Wineskin wrappers.
Shadow is a paid cloud PC subscription that streams a full Windows machine to a Mac, so any Windows game runs without Wine but needs a fast connection.
Winlator
An Android app that runs x86_64 Windows applications and games using Wine and Box86/Box64.
Shadow streams a full Windows PC to Android and other devices by paid subscription, so games run remotely instead of locally, needing a fast connection.
Similar software
Related functionality, not necessarily a direct replacement.
NoMachine
High-performance remote desktop with audio, video and file transfer.
chiaki-ng
An open-source PlayStation Remote Play client for PC, Linux and Steam Deck.
Windows App
Microsoft's remote desktop client for connecting to Windows PCs, Remote Desktop Services and cloud desktops.
Selkies
Open-source WebRTC platform for streaming a Linux desktop to a web browser with low latency.
