How to Play the Trending Game Palworld on Your iPad

Palworld, a game that recently entered Early Access, is showing impressive box office success, even reaching the second spot in Steam's all-time concurrent player count despite being developed by a small studio. Its gameplay, which blends elements of Minecraft, Pokémon, and first-person shooters, is attracting a wide range of players from different genres.

However, I find myself unable to fully enjoy the game comfortably. Living in a university dorm, I don't have the space to bring a PC or Xbox to my room. To properly play the game, I'd have to go to a PC bang (PC room), which inevitably means enduring the smell of cigarette smoke. Not just Palworld, but most of my favorite games require a PC or console to play.

After nearly four years of dealing with PC bang cigarette smoke and dorm curfews, I finally discovered a way to play games on my iPad from my dorm bed. Unlike Minecraft, which has a separate mobile version, this method lets me play the PC and console versions directly on my iPad. It's through Xbox Game Pass's cloud gaming service.

Xbox Game Pass is like Netflix for games. For $7.90 a month, you can play an unlimited number of games on the list. And best of all, if you subscribe to the $13.50 Ultimate plan, you can also access cloud gaming services on mobile devices like iPads.

Cloud gaming works by remotely controlling a PC or Xbox. You connect to a computer owned by Microsoft from your iPad or iPhone to play games. The computer itself is at Microsoft, and your iPad acts as the monitor. Using this cloud gaming, you can easily play PC games like Palworld.

Playing Palworld and other games through my iPad didn't feel significantly different from playing on a PC or console. I was worried about potential lag since it's remote control, but even in PvP modes of FPS games like Halo, there were no issues.

Of course, you'll need a few other things besides an iPad. A Bluetooth game controller is essential. While some games can be played with just the iPad's touchscreen, many still require an Xbox-compatible game controller. This is because these games were originally designed for PC or Xbox, and touchscreen controls aren't always available.

In addition to the Xbox controller, gamepads from companies like 8BitDo are also compatible. However, it's important that they connect via Bluetooth instead of USB or wired connections to be usable with the iPad. The 8BitDo controllers can be used not only with PCs and Xbox but also with the Nintendo Switch.

Beyond Palworld, Xbox Cloud Gaming includes a wide variety of games. You can play Ubisoft's flagship titles like Assassin's Creed Odyssey, Origins, and Valhalla on your iPad.

I've been playing Assassin's Creed Valhalla on my PlayStation 4 at my parents' house, but I can only really play during holidays. As a result, I haven't been able to finish the story mode of this game that I bought last Lunar New Year, over a year later. Now that I can play 'Valhalla' on my iPad in the dorm, I think I'll finally be able to complete it.

Other Xbox and Steam hits like Starfield, Halo, and Fortnite are also available through cloud gaming.