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The VM column describes what backend technology the emulator uses. Emulators labeled with "VirtualBox" requires the user to install [https://www.virtualbox.org/ Oracle VM VirtualBox].
* '''Bluestacks''' is also commercial with a free option (requires a google account). It's a full gaming platform including ways to livestream to Twitch and Facebook Live. It is not meant for developers but rather gamers. It performs better than KOplayer, Memu, and Nox. Made in Silicon Valley, BlueStacks is backed by top hardware manufacturers like Intel, AMD, and Samsung which explains their advantage in system compatibility. It includes Google Apps by default, though you'll need to install a file manager to copy game cache when loading your own apks.
* '''Genymotion''' is an Android emulator with hardware-accelerated 3D graphics and USB host support, available for Windows, Mac and Linux. In its latest versions, it has pretty good compatibility with commercial games. It's a commercial product though, aimed at software developers and QA teams. You'll need to create an account and download the free non-commercial use license available. Except for pay-to-remove "free for personal use" watermark on the screen, paid builds add features only useful for Android app developers.
**Setting up the emulator itself is not too hard, but a bit of tinkering is required to add the Google Play store and [http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2528952 ARM processor emulation] (what you need essentially here to play the commercial releases) as well as [https://groups.google.com/d/msg/genymotion-users/JpO8HR39PR0/NpSkrnsB8d8J Xbox 360 controller support]. Not noob-friendly, but if you're experienced enough with Android to know your way around a rooted filesystem it shouldn't be too hard.
* '''BluestacksNox App Player''' is also commercial with a free option (requires a google account). It's less good than Genymotion, and doesn't handle USB cable emulation. Previous versions used to come with an installer with adware, Chinese made bootleg of BlueStacks that comes with junk apps within the emulator, malware and has a non-intuitive uninstaller, but that's no longer the case todaykeylogger. It includes Users report stolen credit cards and hacked Google Apps by default, though you'll need to install a file manager to copy game cache when loading your own apksAccounts.
* '''MEmu''' is a free Android emulator with very good accuracy, sometimes outperforming Bluestacks. It is often bundled with malware so run it in a sandbox.
* '''Droid4x''' has good accuracy but forcefully uninstalls VirtualBox, so it cannot co-exist with Genymotion and Xamarin. It's not recommended because it will install hidden background services (xunlei.exe, and Thunder.exe, both by the Chinese company which developed Droid4x) in the background seeding Chinese torrents constantly and they are a pain to uninstall or deactivate (in case you've already fallen for it, use Revo Uninstaller).
