Indie devs say Tesla wanted their games in cars for free

Two high-profile indie developers have taken to Twitter to reveal a “silly” plan by Tesla to include the developers’ games in its cars.

Sam Barlow, the independent developer behind Her Story, Telling Lies, and the recently released Immortality, has said that Tesla reached out to him to discuss the possibility of including Her Story in Tesla vehicles.

According to tweets from Barlow, Tesla offered to pay him the grand sum of zero dollars to pay for the license and engineering work required to port the game to the platform, a suggestion that he calls “one of the sillier ideas [he’s] heard”. In lieu of payment, Tesla reportedly suggested the benefit to the developer would be the exposure from being featured in the vehicles.

Tesla once reached out to ask to put her story in a car. I asked how much they would pay for the license and to cover the engineering work- they suggested zero, that I consider the exposure I would get

— Sam Barlow 🔥 Buy IMMORTALITY! (@mrsambarlow) October 31, 2022

Cabel Sasser, one of the developers behind the Australian instant classic Untitled Goose Game, said that he was also approached by Tesla to provide the game to the company for free. Neither game is currently available on the Tesla Arcade platform, suggesting that the deal of absolutely nothing wasn’t sweet enough for the developers to follow through.

Same re: Goose

— Cabel (@cabel) October 31, 2022

Tesla Arcade – the EV manufacturer’s in-car platform for games distribution – features dozens of games both big and small, including classic arcade games like Breakout and Missile Command, as well as more modern hits like Stardew Valley and The Witcher 3. Games can be played in the vehicle using a USB controller or in some instances the steering wheel. A software update in late 2021 disabled the ability to play games while driving, after the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigated the feature and found that it “may distract the driver and increase the risk of a crash”.

The discussion around Tesla’s games licensing strategy comes after Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently completed his acquisition of social media giant Twitter. The move has seen a number of Twitter users push back against Musk, with many criticising the increase of hate content and lack of content moderation since the finalisation of the sale was announced. Further ridicule was raised by Twitter users after it was revealed that verification on the platform would soon be locked behind a $20 USD (~$31 AUD) a month subscription.

Written by Oliver Brandt on behalf of GLHF.