• by Tanya Gazdik , October 12, 2022

BMW Group is partnering with AirConsole to bring gaming into new BMW vehicles, starting next year.

The AirConsole gaming platform fits into the BMW Curved Display and offers a large assortment of games. 

The BMW Group chose AirConsole as a partner via its BMW Startup Garage program, the BMW Group’s venture client unit. It seeks out innovations that deliver benefits for the BMW Group’s products, services, systems and processes.

To set up the gaming experience, players need a smartphone, which serves as the game controller, and the BMW Curved Display. The connection between the smartphone and the vehicle is established by scanning a QR code in the vehicle, much like how Chromecast works in a hotel room.

The games are run directly inside the vehicle entertainment system.

The automaker's goal with the collection of single- and multiplayer games is to make every waiting situation in the vehicle an entertaining experience, says Stephan Durach, senior vice president BMW Group connected company development. The gaming system can only be operated while the vehicle is parked.

BMW is not the first automaker to offer in-vehicle gaming. Tesla vehicles feature Passenger Play, which transforms the screen into a traveling gaming rig. The automaker suspended the offering in in-motion vehicles in the spring after the National Transportation Highway System opened a safety probe late last fall. Now, like BMW, the games can only be accessed while the vehicle is in park.