It’s Happening, Folks: Full Games Are Finally Coming to Cars

The wait to charge the battery or pick up the kids from school is sometimes painfully long, so it’s no surprise that many are turning to mobile phones to play their favorite games.

But thanks to Nvidia, the whole experience is getting a major upgrade, as the company is pushing the gaming experience in a car to a completely new level.

Nvidia announced at CES this week that it’s partnering with a series of carmakers, including Hyundai, BYD, and Polestar to bring GeForce Now to vehicles powered by Android Automotive.

The game streaming service, which is available with a subscription, requires an Internet connection and provides access to the most popular games today. Thanks to the integration into the infotainment system, drivers and passengers will be able to play games using a connected controller, so in many ways, the cabin will turn into a PlayStation-powered living room on wheels.

Needless to say, given the whole thing is aimed at drivers, you won’t be able to play games on the main infotainment screen while driving. After all, the driver just needs to keep their eyes on the road, so GeForce Now will be restricted when the vehicle is in motion.

However, if your car is equipped with other displays, such as screens for the rear passengers, GeForce Now will allow game streaming at any moment, no matter if the vehicle is parked or not. This makes perfect sense, and it can serve as a great way to keep the kids busy during long journeys.

With over 1,500 games currently available in the library, GeForce Now promises a smooth gaming experience, though, as compared to traditional devices that sit in one place, be it a living room or an office, cars are always moving and are, therefore, prone to data connection struggles. As a result, a spotty Internet connection could turn the whole thing into one frustrating experience, and good luck explaining this to your 5-year-old who just wants to play Battlefield.

GeForce Now is projected to become available in cars later this year, and the three brands mentioned above are the ones to pioneer this new gaming experience behind the wheel. Needless to say, the new system will only be available in Android Automotive-powered systems, and a GeForce Now subscription is also going to be required.

No further details on which models would support it have been shared at this point, but in the case of Hyundai, all brands in the group will offer the new capabilities, including Kia and Genesis models that feature the NVIDIA Drive in-vehicle infotainment as part of their hardware offering.