Volkswagen is the latest automotive manufacturer to announce a partnership with mobile gaming platform AirConsole, which allows drivers and passengers to stream a number of gaming titles when stationary.
Initially to be rolled out in the VW ID.7 Pro S and VW ID.7 Touring Pro S models, with various other all-electric ID products running ID. software 4.0 slated to receive the update in the coming months, the platform sees the smartphone serve as a controller, allowing up to four players to enjoy a selection of arcade-style games.
The BMW group partnered with AirConsole back in 2022 and has since started to introduce app support in a number of BMW and Mini models, including the all-new electric Mini that we tested recently.
Although readily available on web browsers, Android TV, Google TV and Amazon Fire TV, it is only recently that AirConsole has been introduced to vehicles, with battery EVs the first obvious targets.
The extended downtime faced by EV owners as they wait for batteries to brim presents the perfect opportunity for a spot of gaming, with AirConsole offering the likes of madcap co-op Overcooked, trivia quiz Who Wants to be a Millionaire? and a handful of racing titles and puzzle games to while away the minutes.
Volkswagen says that it plans to expand its AirConsole app to combustion engine cars, too, with new Passat, the new Tiguan, the new Golf and the new Golf Estate – all of which will run the latest infotainment software – offering in-car gaming by 2025.
Mercedes pulls out the big guns
It seems the automotive infotainment screen might be the next battleground gunning for gamers’ attention, as Mercedes-Benz announced at Gamescom this year that it has partnered with the developers of the Boosteroid app to offer AAA games for streaming in its vehicles.
The latest MBUX Hyperscreen multimedia system comprises three enormous digital displays in some models, offering the chance for driver and front-seat passenger to compete in titles from the likes of Steam and Epic Games on separate screens.
Using either a Bluetooth controller or a smartphone, gamers will be able stream and even compete in over 1,000 titles via the Boosteroid app in Europe and North America early next year.
Conversely, Tesla is moving away from offering AAA gaming in its vehicles, stopping support for Steam games on Model S and Model X this year, while neither denying nor confirming whether it will pursue it with Model Y or Model 3.
There were some suggestions that Tesla perhaps pulled support due to its various on-going cases surrounding distracted drivers and its Full Self-Driving technology, despite the system only becoming active when a vehicle is stationary, or that it was merely a cost-saving measure ordered by boss Elon Musk.
During an earnings call earlier this year, Musk even floated the idea of using the computers of parked vehicles to instead conduct inference, data processing, and other tasks, earning money for the vehicle owner and the manufacturer.