Bring your Android game to the car screen today

Posted by Jan Kleinert, Developer Relations Engineer, Android for Cars Today, the games category for Android Auto and cars powered by Android Automotive OS with Google built-in is officially graduating from beta to general availability. Our early access partners have already been bringing games to the parked-only experience for cars, and you can browse these in our latest collections of games for Android Auto and games for Android Automotive OS. Bringing your game to cars lets you reach users in their vehicles during natural downtime, such as while waiting at a charging station or for a curbside order pickup.

Today’s milestone means that we’re opening up access so developers can now publish games to the open testing and production tracks on Google Play. In this post, we’ll cover how to adapt your existing Android game for the car screen, focusing on key technical requirements and publishing criteria. Implement car support for your game If you’re already following best practices for building adaptive apps, bringing an existing Android game to cars primarily involves configuring your app manifest and ensuring your game respects the vehicle parked state.

Mark your app as a game To distribute your app in the games category, you need to explicitly declare its category. Add the android:appCategory="game" attribute to the <application> element of your manifest file: <application… Android:appCategory="game">…

Games on Android Auto and Android Automotive OS are officially out of beta. Google officially opens the door to more games on Android Auto.

You can already play supported games on your car’s screen while parked by browsing through Google’s collection of games for Android Auto and Android Automotive, but developers can now publish compatible titles to Google Play’s open testing and production tracks. Android Auto and Android Automotive games are blocked while you’re driving for obvious safety reasons.

Recent reports claiming that General Motors is reversing course on its controversial plans to ditch CarPlay in its future EVs appear to be incorrect. As noted by Joanna Stern, host of the YouTube channel New Things, a GM spokesperson has confirmed that its new software interface that shows CarPlay or Android Auto alongside its own native system in 2027 models of its Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra is specific to the gas-powered versions of those pickup trucks.

If you’ve ever found yourself sitting in your car with nothing to do, Google is ramping up options for your entertainment. To onboarding video streaming services on Android Auto and Android Automotive, Google is also making in-car gaming a bigger deal this year.

The company has now officially moved the games category for Android Auto and Android Automotive OS out of beta and into general availability.

GM previously stated that CarPlay and Android Auto would continue to be offered in its new gas-powered vehicles for the "foreseeable future," so the 2027 models of those trucks still supporting those platforms is not a change of course. There is one more wrinkle in that GM’s all-electric 2027 Cadillac LYRIQ supports CarPlay and Android Auto still — it is unclear if the Lyriq will always be an exception or if it will simply be one of GM’s final EVs to ever support phone mirroring systems.

Overall, though, GM continues to insist that its future EVs will not offer CarPlay. All in all, GM really wants you to know that it is committed to ditching the extremely popular feature that you probably want in your next EV.

Related Roundup: CarPlay Tag: General Motors Related Forum: HomePod, HomeKit, CarPlay, Home & Auto Technology This article, " GM Wants You to Know It Still Plans to Ditch Apple CarPlay in Future EVs " first appeared on com Discuss this article in our forums. GM Wants You to Know It Still Plans to Ditch Apple CarPlay in Future EVs.

Related Roundup: CarPlay Tag: General Motors Related Forum: HomePod, HomeKit, CarPlay, Home & Auto Technology [ 139 comments ].

</application> Declare support for Android Auto Games are supported on Android Auto on devices running Android 15 and higher. To declare that your game supports Android Auto, include this <category> element in the intent filter of an activity in your manifest file: <activity…

<intent-filter> <action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />… <category android:name="android.intent.category.CAR_LAUNCHER" /> </intent-filter> </activity> Generally, the android.intent.category.CAR_LAUNCHER category element is placed in the same intent filter as the android.intent.category.LAUNCHER element, but it can be in another activity’s intent filter if you prefer to launch a different activity.