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Forget About YouTube, Games Now Welcome on Android Auto
6 photosPhoto: Bogdan Popa/autoevolution/Google
A new category has just been unlocked on Android Auto and Android Automotive for all developers. Games are no longer listed as a beta category, meaning that every developer out there can now bring their games to the car and allow users to play them while parked.
Google says it loud and clear from the very beginning. This is a parked-only experience, meaning that games won’t be available when the vehicle is in motion. The reason is a no-brainer, but Google won’t even allow the audio to play in the background when the vehicle is moving.
As for the actual benefit of having a game on your Android Auto and Android Automotive screen, the answer comes down to those long waiting times when you have nothing to do. For example, if you’re waiting for your vehicle to charge or to pick up your kids from school, you can fire up your favorite game right on the infotainment screen.
If you attempt to launch a game when you drive, you’ll get a notification reading “not available while driving.”
Google has been offering a small number of games for quite some time on Android Auto and AAOS, including Beach Buggy Racing and Angry Birds, but now that the category has graduated from beta, the number of titles available for drivers should increase significantly.
Google has published several guidelines for developers, and two of the most important are controller support – meaning that you’ll be able to play some games with a controller, not necessarily using the touch support of your infotainment unit – and the ability to save a game session to let users pick up from where they left off the next time they launch the game.
Considering Android Auto is powered by the smartphone, this shouldn’t be too complex, but Google emphasizes that every game “must restore the app state as closely as possible to the previous state.”
Without a doubt, the most challenging part for developers will be to optimize their games for the wide variety of infotainment screens, resolutions, and dimensions in the automotive world. Google says developers must “make your game fully adaptive to different screen sizes so that it runs full screen without letterboxing or pillarboxing.”
Users who want to play games on Android Auto must be running at least Android 15.
While games are now live on Android Auto, Google still hasn’t said anything about the debut of YouTube in the car. Google originally promised video app support earlier this year, with a beta launch by the end of 2026. However, with no new specifics shared, there’s a chance the release might get pushed to 2027, especially as Google wants more video apps to make their way to Android Auto. Just like games, video apps will only support a parked experience.
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About the author: Bogdan Popa
Bogdan keeps an eye on how technology is taking over the car world. His long-term goals are buying an 18-wheeler because he needs more space for his kid’s toys, and convincing Google and Apple that Android Auto and CarPlay deserve at least as much attention as their phones.
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