Recently Elon Musk mucked things up at Twitter after purchasing the popular social media platform for $44 billion. Now, the Tesla CEO is bringing another of his ideas to life by bringing PC gaming platform Steam to Tesla cars.
While this sounds like a recipe for an increase in car accidents, Musk has been considering bringing video games to Teslas for quite some time.
“If you’re into video game development, consider applying to Tesla. We want to make super fun games that integrate the center touch screen, phone & car IRL,” Musk tweeted in August 2018.
Tesla posted a YouTube video yesterday which shows someone playing Cyberpunk 2077 in a Tesla. According to the video’s description, the Steam integration, which is releasing in beta as part of a holiday update, will bring thousands of games to 2022 model S & X Teslas. All titles verified on Steam Deck will be available and the new integration will support cloud saves. Tesla’s Steam integration supports wireless controllers as well as keyboard and mouse setups. A retrofit will later be available for older-model Teslas, according to a response from Musk on Twitter.
Last year, Tesla disabled Passenger Play when a car is moving after being investigated by the US National Highways and Traffic Safety Administration. One can only hope that the Steam integration will also be unusable while the vehicle is being driven.
Driving the Competition
While video games in cars isn’t necessarily the most practical idea, Musk isn’t the only one investing in the concept. Honda and Sony are partnering to put a PlayStation 5 in a future electric Honda. Additionally, BMW is teaming up with AirConsole to bring gaming to future models.The idea of gaming in cars is raising safety concerns. Both Tesla and BMW stated that gaming features will only be available if the vehicle is not in motion. But if that’s the case, why game in your car at all? And what about the risk of hackers finding a way to ‘unlock’ the feature while driving?
Jack Brassell is a freelance journalist and aspiring novelist. Jack is a self-proclaimed nerd with a lifelong passion for storytelling. As an author, Jack writes mostly horror and young adult fantasy. Also an avid gamer, she works as the lead news editor at Hardcore Droid. When she isn't writing or playing games, she can often be found binge-watching Parks & Rec or The Office, proudly considering herself to be a cross between Leslie Knope and Pam Beasley.
