Sony and Honda are turning the electric car into a literal PlayStation lounge, baking PS Remote Play directly into their first production EV so drivers can stream games from a home console to the dashboard while the car is parked. The move pushes in-car entertainment far beyond Spotify playlists and Netflix screens, and it signals how seriously both companies now treat the cabin as a digital platform, not just a place to sit between destinations. It is a wild swing at the future of mobility, but it is also a carefully structured bet on connectivity, subscriptions, and a new kind of road trip downtime.
How Sony and Honda ended up building a PlayStation car
The partnership that produced this gaming-focused EV did not come out of nowhere. Sony and Honda spent years circling each other as tech and auto companies tried to decide who would own the software stack in the car, and they eventually formalized that alliance in a joint venture called Sony Honda Mobility Inc. The new brand was introduced to the public when Sony and Honda confirmed that their electric car brand would be called Afeela and showed off a concept car that blended the automaker’s engineering with the electronics giant’s interface and media know-how, a combination that set expectations that this would be more than just another battery-powered sedan.
From the start, the two companies framed Afeela as a way to fuse transportation with digital entertainment, positioning the vehicle as a rolling extension of the living room rather than a traditional commuter appliance. That intent is visible in the way the brand was presented, with Sony and Honda describing how the electric car brand would be called Afeela and how they would show off a concept car that leaned heavily on screens, sensors, and connected services, signaling that the eventual production model would be a showcase for Sony’s media ecosystem as much as Honda’s chassis expertise.
Meet AFEELA 1, the luxury EV built around screens
The first fruit of that collaboration is the AFEELA 1, a luxury EV that made its public debut at CES 2025 as a flagship for the new brand. Rather than chasing minimalist interiors, the car leans into a high-tech lounge aesthetic, with a wide cabin display stretching across the dash and a design language that treats digital surfaces as core to the driving and passenger experience. The AFEELA 1 is positioned as a premium model, and its pricing reflects that ambition, with Sony and Honda presenting it as a halo product that can justify more experimental features like native console streaming.
At its unveiling, the AFEELA 1 was described as a luxury EV that debuts at CES with a starting price of $89,900, a figure that puts it squarely in competition with high-end electric sedans from established brands but also gives Sony Honda Mobility room to pack in advanced hardware and software. Reporting on the launch notes that AFEELA 1 was unveiled as a luxury EV with detailed pricing and availability information, and that starting at $89,900 price tag underscores how the company is targeting buyers who are willing to pay for cutting-edge tech, including the integrated PlayStation experience.
Pricing, positioning, and who Afeela 1 is really for
That nearly six-figure sticker price is not just a number, it is a signal about who Sony Honda Mobility expects to sit behind the wheel. The Afeela 1 is being marketed as a tech-forward luxury car for buyers who already live inside Sony’s ecosystem, the kind of driver who owns a PlayStation 5, subscribes to streaming services, and sees the car as another screen in a network of devices. By anchoring the model at a premium price, the company can treat features like PS Remote Play as differentiators rather than mass-market necessities, and it can afford the connectivity and display hardware needed to make them work smoothly.
Guidance on the rollout describes how the Afeela 1, the first Sony Honda EV, has its pricing announced as part of a broader set of car advice that frames it as a new car coming from Sony Honda Mobility Inc, with the name itself sometimes stylized to emphasize the “Feel” in Afeela. The reporting on that launch notes that Sony Honda EV Afeela pricing announced positions the vehicle as a high-end entry, and that context makes it clear that the target buyer is someone who values both performance and the novelty of having console-grade entertainment integrated into the car.
How PS Remote Play actually works inside the car
Under the hood of the entertainment system, the AFEELA 1 is not secretly hiding a PlayStation 5 in the trunk. Instead, it relies on Sony’s existing PS Remote Play technology, which streams games from a powered-on console at home to another screen over the internet. Inside the car, that means the central cabin display becomes a remote window into the living room console, with the driver or passengers using a controller to play as if they were on the couch, as long as the vehicle is safely parked. The experience is meant to feel like any other Remote Play session, just transplanted into the EV’s interior.
Technical descriptions of the feature explain that Sony Honda Mobility’s AFEELA electric vehicle will introduce something entirely new to in-car entertainment, namely native console streaming that lets users play PS4 and PS5 titles while waiting to begin moving, and that the system operates similarly to any other Remote Play setup, with a powered-on console at home transmitting the game feed to the car. One report notes that Sony Honda Mobility’s AFEELA electric vehicle will let occupants stream games while stationary, while another emphasizes that the system operates similarly to existing Remote Play, turning the cabin into something far more engaging than a boring old place to sit.
Network demands, limitations, and why “parked only” matters
Streaming a modern console game is not trivial, and Sony Honda Mobility is explicit about the connectivity demands. To make PS Remote Play feel responsive, the car needs a strong and stable internet connection so that the video feed from the home console can travel to the vehicle and the control inputs can travel back without noticeable lag. That requirement means the feature will shine in places with robust 5G or Wi-Fi coverage and may be less reliable in rural areas, underground garages, or congested networks, and the company is already tempering expectations by warning that availability can vary with network conditions.
There are also deliberate safety constraints baked into the design. Sony Honda Mobility has been clear that PlayStation gaming comes to the car only when the vehicle is parked, a rule that keeps the driver from being distracted by a full-screen game while in motion and that aligns with broader regulatory scrutiny of in-car screens. Coverage of the feature notes that the AFEELA cabin display will stream games from a home console while parked and that SHM says users will want a strong, stable connection for the feature to work well, while also acknowledging that the service may be unavailable depending on network conditions. One analysis points out that the feature streams games from a home PS5 to AFEELA’s cabin display, and another underlines that it may be unavailable depending on network conditions, reinforcing that this is a convenience feature, not a guaranteed service in every parking lot.
From concept to “world’s first” in-car Remote Play
What makes AFEELA 1 stand out is not just that it can stream games, but that Sony Honda Mobility is treating this as a flagship capability and a world first. The company is positioning the car as the first production vehicle with in-car integration of PS Remote Play, turning something that used to require aftermarket hacks or tablet workarounds into a native, supported feature. That framing matters because it shows Sony and Honda are not just allowing gaming in the car, they are designing the interface, controls, and safety rules around it from the factory.
Official materials describe how Sony Honda Mobility’s AFEELA will feature the world’s first in-car integration with PS Remote Play, with the company explicitly using phrases like “Feature World” and “First In” to underline the milestone and to connect it to a broader vision of making the mobility experience a captivating and emotional one. The announcement spells out that Sony Honda Mobility’s AFEELA to Feature World’s First In-Car integration with Remote Play, and that language is echoed in coverage that calls the AFEELA EV the first production vehicle with in-car PS Remote Play, underscoring how central this capability is to the brand’s identity.
What PS Remote Play in a car actually changes for drivers
For drivers and passengers, the practical impact of this integration is about reclaiming dead time. Long charging stops, school pickup lines, and early arrivals at appointments all become opportunities to dive into a favorite game, continue a story-driven title, or knock out a few online matches, as long as the home console is powered on and connected. In that sense, the AFEELA 1 turns the car into a satellite of the living room, letting users carry their progress and digital library into spaces that used to be filled with scrolling through social feeds or staring at the dashboard clock.
Reports on the feature emphasize that Sony Honda Mobility Inc is integrating Remote Play into its upcoming AFEELA electric vehicle so that users can stream games from their PS4 or PS5 to the car’s display, with the experience framed as a way to entertain passengers or the driver during a charging stop. One summary notes that Sony Honda Mobility Inc is bringing this capability to AFEELA 1 specifically so users can enjoy games during those otherwise idle moments, and that focus on downtime hints at how Sony sees the car as another node in a broader entertainment network rather than a separate, isolated device.
Why Sony is betting on the car as a PlayStation accessory
From Sony’s perspective, turning the car into a PlayStation screen is a strategic move to deepen engagement with its gaming ecosystem. Every additional surface that can run PS Remote Play makes it more likely that players will stay within the PlayStation universe instead of drifting to mobile games or rival platforms when they leave the house. By embedding that capability directly into the AFEELA 1, Sony is effectively treating the EV as a premium accessory for the PS4 and PS5, one that can keep users subscribed, invested, and buying new titles because their access to those games is no longer confined to the living room.
The broader context for this strategy goes back to when Sony and Honda announced a PlayStation Remote Play compatible car and described how, in 2022, they confirmed their partnership with the goal of creating a new mobility experience that would bring the PlayStation experience right from the vehicle. Coverage of that announcement notes that Sony and Honda announce a Remote Play compatible car as part of a vision to merge gaming and mobility, and the AFEELA 1’s implementation of PS Remote Play is the concrete realization of that pitch, turning marketing language about “experience” into a tangible feature on the options list.
How it compares to past in-car gaming experiments
In-car gaming is not entirely new, but previous attempts have been fragmented and often short-lived. Tesla, for example, experimented with letting drivers play games on the center screen, only to face regulatory pressure and eventually remove or restrict some of those features when safety concerns were raised. Other automakers have offered rear-seat entertainment systems with basic games or support for plugging in external consoles, but those setups rarely integrated deeply with a specific gaming ecosystem or offered the kind of seamless streaming that PS Remote Play promises.
Analysts covering the AFEELA 1 point out that this car will be the first to feature Sony’s PS Remote Play as a built-in capability, and they contrast that with earlier experiments that were added and then removed. One report notes that the Afeela will be the first car to feature Sony’s Remote Play and that faraway road trips just got a lot easier, at least for passengers, while also recalling that other automakers once allowed in-car gaming but later removed this feature. The same coverage explains that The Afeela will be the first car to feature Sony’s Remote Play, and that historical context highlights how unusual it is for a manufacturer to double down on gaming at a moment when others have pulled back.
Inside the cabin: what the entertainment system looks like
Beyond the headline feature of PS Remote Play, the AFEELA 1’s cabin is built around a comprehensive entertainment system that treats the dashboard as a cinematic display. The wide screen across the front seats is designed to handle navigation, vehicle controls, and media playback, and when the car is parked, it can switch into a dedicated gaming mode that prioritizes low-latency input and clear visuals. The goal is to make the transition from driving to gaming feel natural, with the car’s software handling the shift in context rather than forcing the user to juggle multiple devices.
Descriptions of the system highlight that Sony Partners With Honda to Make PS4 and PS5 Playable Inside a New Car, with the decked out entertainment system including not just the Remote Play integration but also a broader suite of media options that reflect Sony’s background in movies, music, and games. Reporting on that setup notes that Sony Partners With Honda to make PS4 and PS5 playable inside a new car, and that the entertainment system is robust enough that the companies are setting their expectations around the car as a full-fledged media hub, not just a vehicle with a few apps bolted on.
Availability, timelines, and what comes next
For now, PS Remote Play in the AFEELA 1 is framed as a feature of upcoming Sony Honda Mobility EVs rather than something drivers can use in existing cars, which makes the rollout timeline crucial. The company is treating the integration as a selling point for its first wave of vehicles, and it is clear that the feature will only be available when the car is parked, both for safety and to keep the user experience focused on downtime rather than multitasking behind the wheel. That constraint also simplifies regulatory approval, since the system can be treated more like a stationary console than a distraction during active driving.
Coverage of the roadmap explains that Sony Honda Mobility EVs will support PlayStation Remote Play for in-car gaming and that PlayStation gaming comes to the car when the car is parked, with the availability timeline tied to the launch of the AFEELA models. One analysis notes that PlayStation gaming comes to the car
The bigger bet: cars as connected entertainment platforms
Stepping back, the AFEELA 1’s PS Remote Play integration is part of a broader shift in how automakers and tech companies think about the car. Instead of treating the vehicle as a closed system with a fixed set of functions, Sony and Honda are positioning it as a connected platform that can tap into cloud services, home devices, and subscription ecosystems. That approach aligns with the rise of over-the-air updates, app stores on dashboards, and recurring revenue models, and it suggests that the real competition in the EV space will be as much about software experiences as about range or acceleration.
Early coverage of the AFEELA brand framed it as a sign that the automaker and the electronics giant were joining forces to redefine what a car could be, with Sony and Honda Electric Car Brand Will Be Called Afeela and the concept car showing how deeply integrated digital services could become. Later reporting on Sony Honda Mobility’s AFEELA EV set to become the first production vehicle with in-car PS Remote Play and on Sony Honda Mobility EVs supporting Remote Play for in-car gaming reinforces that trajectory, and one piece even notes that Sony Honda Mobility EVs to Support this kind of integration as part of a larger push to make the mobility experience more emotional and engaging. In that context, the ability to play PS5 in the driveway is not a gimmick, it is a preview of a future where the line between car, console, and cloud keeps getting thinner.
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