New Delhi: If one is a gamer and a car enthusiast, they are usually accustomed to a number of car racing video games. Now, with an onward move towards autonomous mobility, technology is becoming synonymous with the automotive world, and gamers could also experience and enjoy in-car gaming which is expected to become a core feature of the cars of tomorrow.
One such Indian technology company is working on leveraging this opportunity. In line with enhancing the driver and passenger experience within the Cockpit of the Future, Pune-based KPIT Technologies is set to acquire a 13% stake in the Switzerland-based N-Dream AG, an emerging startup specializing in Cloud-based game aggregation platforms. The agreement also includes an option for KPIT to further increase its shareholding.
“Gaming will be one big thing especially for rear seat entertainment. With hardware, sensors, actuators, displays, and everything else existing inside the car, companies can be innovative in terms of thinking it differently,” Anup Sable, Chief Technology Officer (CTO), KPIT Technologies, said.
While in-car gaming is possible in the near-term when the vehicle is stationary, it may only be feasible for front seat passengers in the long-term when vehicles come equipped with a higher level of autonomous technology. The whole experience can be quite immersive and if two people are playing on the front seats with one of them scoring a goal, automakers may even bring up experiential features like lights popping up on the winner’s seat.
According to a PwC Global Entertainment and Media Outlook 2022-26 report, the gaming industry is tipped to maintain its recent rapid growth, and could be worth USD 321 billion by 2026.
“In-car gaming can become a new segment within the gaming industry because it requires heavy integration with the car,” Sable suggested.
This year, the BMW Group partnered with gaming platform AirConsole to bring in-car gaming to the road in the new BMW 5 Series. It allows the driver and passengers to play so-called casual games while the vehicle is stationary as a way of passing time while waiting for the vehicle to charge, for example. Here, the players need their smartphone, which acts as a controller, and the BMW Curved Display.
Even at the CES 2023 in Las Vegas, car-related gaming products and services were extensively showcased. Sony-Honda joint venture Sony Honda Mobility revealed the Afeela EV prototype, which will incorporate technology from Epic Games’ Unreal Engine.
Automotive supplier NVIDIA also revealed its GeForce NOW cloud gaming service, with Hyundai, BYD and Polestar working with the company to integrate the same. Visteon showed its fourth generation SmartCore cockpit domain controller that supports multi-display entertainment and gaming, and Garmin demonstrated its ‘Unified Cabin’ concept with an emphasis on technologies that unify multiple domains, touchscreens, and wireless devices on a single system-on-chip (SoC) – with wireless gaming controllers from Atari.
According to S&P Global Mobility, cloud gaming platforms are allowing users to enjoy high-quality, lag-free experiences without the need for huge and expensive hard drives. With compatible infotainment systems and powerful graphics processing units (GPUs), high-caliber 3D gaming engines are rendering in-car gaming experiences at par with home gaming consoles.
With emerging trends of autonomous, high connectivity and software defined vehicles (SDVs), OEMs will work on building the next-gen features to their vehicles for improving the experiential quotient of the customers. Here, technology players like KPIT work as a bridge between the gaming companies and the automakers to integrate the platform.
“In-car gaming requires a lot more than creating an audio and video experience. Gaming companies can license the games, and then we work on helping them manage the integration with a vehicle. A lot of these innovative concepts will come up in production in the next 5-6 years,” Sable said.
Over the last few years, Tesla has been investing heavily on integrating video games into its in-car entertainment system. Last year, the company launched Steam integration inside its Model S and Model X electric cars where thousands of games were playable.
However, in May this year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) closed its investigation into 580,000 Tesla vehicles over the automaker’s decision to initially allow games to be played on the front center touchscreen. The safety agency said while it was not seeking a recall of the vehicles, its analysis of data provided by Tesla “produced significant concerns about driver distraction during the time that it was available.”
Experts suggest that in-car gaming could be a reality in India as well, but this will require stringent safety compliances and related regulatory policies in place. Automakers will have a lot of opportunity in collaborating with game content developers, software companies, AR and VR players, among others.
