I simply want my Tesla Model 3 had Steam

Steam, the PC gaming platform, is making its method round city as a part of Tesla’s newest vacation replace. It fulfills a promise Tesla CEO Elon Musk made virtually two years in the past: that you simply’ll be capable to play The Witcher 3 utilizing the automotive’s built-in {hardware}. But sadly for me, I received’t get to play it, and it doesn’t appear to be there will likely be any simple path towards upgrading.

I’ve a 2018 Tesla Model 3, and I feel I ought to point out it’s obtained loads of upgrades over time, together with overhauled consumer interface, Autopilot visualizations, streaming apps, and arcade video games. But in my automotive, all of Tesla’s fancy new software program is operating on the Intel Atom — a processor designed for reasonable netbooks from the earlier decade (Remember the Eee PC?). So it’s no shock that my Model 3 can’t play Steam video games, however I nonetheless want it might.

Support for PC video games from Steam, nonetheless, is reserved for the newest Model S and X automobiles, ones that value about twice, if no more, than what I paid for my 3 (even with the newest reductions).

And we’re speaking about solely the newest of the 2022 fashions, as redesigned S and X automobiles from 2021 and early 2022 embody the “PS5-level” graphics chips based mostly on AMD RDNA2 however don’t have the wanted 16GB of RAM.

Owners of these fashions is probably not completely screwed, although, as Musk confirmed on Twitter that there will be a retrofit offered.

The 2022 vacation replace from Tesla, like we see yearly, does add loads of cool new options that my Model 3 can reap the benefits of. The automaker uploaded a new video this week highlighting Easter eggs like always-on rainbow highway graphics for Autopilot, the flexibility to remotely monitor your pet whereas in canine mode, and, lastly, play Apple Music instantly within the automotive (thanks, Tim Cook?).

Of course, the vacation replace comes with a brand-new holiday light show that may time up with different Teslas. Also, I respect that Tesla introduced again the swipe-able playing cards that conveniently present journey information and tire strain — that was eliminated in final yr’s introduction of software version 11, amongst different head-scratchers like eradicating seat heater buttons from the underside bar.

The video additionally includes some technical details on what it takes for video games like Cyberpunk 2077 to run at excessive graphics settings in a Tesla. It makes use of a Linux digital machine, Steam Deck verified video games, and naturally, GPU acceleration from {hardware} I might solely dream of getting in my automotive.

Interestingly, Model 3 and Y automobiles that began delivery this time final yr got here with some upgrades, too, together with new infotainment computer systems operating on AMD Ryzen chips. The new {hardware}, recognized in Tesla neighborhood circles as MCU3, shows improved performance all through the OS — however sadly, they don’t include discrete graphics wanted to run many resource-heavy video games supplied on Steam.

There’s additionally no official word whether or not older vehicles with the Intel-based MCU2 (like mine) can get a retrofit, which might be superior since apps I can run, like Netflix and the online browser, are feeling more and more sluggish these days.

Supporting the extra highly effective AMD chipset would possibly even require the new Lithium-based 12V battery that comes within the newer Model 3 and Y, in accordance with the founding father of Tesla Owners Online, a Tesla discussion board. And to make issues worse, the flexibility to make in-car Zoom calls would possibly not even come to the Intel Atom-based Teslas.

So it’s time for me to simply settle for it: I’ll solely be capable to play video games like Stardew Valley, Sonic the Hedgehog (1991), and Cuphead in my Model 3 throughout highway journeys (not whereas driving, simply to be clear), until I pack an precise Steam Deck or gaming laptop computer. One different possibility might come by way of this unofficial Xbox cloud gaming workaround, but it surely isn’t good.

While the replace didn’t convey me Steam, it did at the least get me Apple Music — so I now not have to pay for Spotify to take heed to music instantly on my gradual Intel Atom-powered display.