Android Auto now Lets You Play Games On Your Car's Display With This Requirement

Last month Google announced that Android Auto would now allow users to play select Android games on their car’s display, but the requirement to do so is not what we initially thought.

Google announced in March that Android Auto would support select Android games to be played on your car’s display, but no details were directly provided on when the functionality would start to show up or what the requirements were outside of the few compatible games.

We spotted support starting to roll out with the Android Auto 14.1 update released in beta just last week. However, this was apparently just a case of ironic timing. While we spotted games going live right as we updated to this latest version, Google has since clarified to 9to5Google that this latest update is not actually required to play games on Android Auto. We’ve also since confirmed that games do work on Android Auto 14.0, the current stable release.

Rather, the requirement for playing games on your car’s display via Android Auto is linked to the current version of Android on your phone. You’ll need to have a device running on Android 15 in order to play games. No Android Auto beta versions are required, and game support is now rolling out to users.

In a footnote on the Android website, Google says:

Works with compatible apps and games. Requires compatible mobile device running on Android 15+. Vehicle’s touch screen must be compatible with Android Auto. Vehicle must be in park to play. Sequences shortened and simulated.

As mentioned in our initial report, games only work when your vehicle is fully parked. They’ll still show up in the app drawer if the vehicle is in motion (or even in gear), but they’ll be blacked out until your put the vehicle in park. Currently, only a handful of Android games are supported for this functionality.