--- title: Bring your Android game to the car screen today | daily.dev description: Google announced that the games category for Android Auto and Android Automotive OS (with Google built-in) has graduated from beta to general availability,... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/bring-your-android-game-to-the-car-screen-today-id9m4imoy twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Bring your Android game to the car screen today | daily.dev og:description: Google announced that the games category for Android Auto and Android Automotive OS (with Google built-in) has graduated from beta to general availability,... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/bring-your-android-game-to-the-car-screen-today-id9m4imoy og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/iD9M4ImoY.png og:image:alt: Bring your Android game to the car screen today og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Bring your Android game to the car screen today **[Android Developers Blog](https://daily.dev/sources/androiddev)** · 5 min read · 6 upvotes · 6 comments ## Summary Google announced that the games category for Android Auto and Android Automotive OS (with Google built-in) has graduated from beta to general availability, opening publishing to open testing and production tracks on Google Play. The post explains how developers can adapt existing Android games for car screens, covering manifest configuration (android:appCategory, CAR_LAUNCHER intent filter, automotive uses-feature), driver distraction compliance (parked-only apps, distractionOptimized, audio pausing), gamepad support declarations, adaptive screen sizing for various car display shapes, and testing tools like the Desktop Head Unit and Android Automotive OS emulator. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### How do I make my Android game available on Android Auto and Android Automotive OS? Add android:appCategory="game" to the application element in your manifest, then declare car support: include a CAR_LAUNCHER category in an activity's intent filter for Android Auto (requires Android 15+), and add the android.hardware.type.automotive uses-feature element for Android Automotive OS. Games must respect the parked state and avoid distractionOptimized metadata to comply with driver distraction rules. _daily.dev surfaces platform guidance like this for developers adapting apps to new device categories._ ### Is the Android Auto games category still in beta? No, as of September 21 2026 the games category for Android Auto and cars running Android Automotive OS with Google built-in has graduated from beta to general availability. Developers who previously had early access can now publish games to the open testing and production tracks on Google Play, not just a limited parked-only preview. _Track platform milestones like this on daily.dev before deciding when to ship car-screen support._ ### How do I declare gamepad support for an Android game so it shows up for controller users on Google Play? Add the android.hardware.gamepad uses-feature element to the manifest with android:required set to false, which signals optional controller support without excluding touch-only devices, and boosts visibility to users specifically searching for controller-compatible games in the Play Store. Only set required to true if a controller is mandatory. _daily.dev helps developers keep up with Play Store visibility signals like this one for game discoverability._ ## Community discussion Top comments from developers on daily.dev. **@yetzederixx** · 7 upvotes > Of all the unholy bad ideas I've seen I think this one takes the cake. It's already at least 3x more dangerous to drive than before 2020. This isn't going to help. **@starfallcodes** · 2 upvotes > WE DO NOT NEED TO PLAY GAMES WHILE DRIVING GOOGLE **@agustinbarrientos** · 1 upvotes > Short puzzle rounds seem perfect for charging stops ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [I installed Google's official Android Auto emulator, and now I test all my apps before they go near my car](https://daily.dev/posts/i-installed-google-s-official-android-auto-emulator-and-now-i-test-all-my-apps-before-they-go-near--ijjijba85) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Your next car will run more Google software than ever, and here's why that matters](https://daily.dev/posts/your-next-car-will-run-more-google-software-than-ever-and-here-s-why-that-matters-jmgpppwek) · XDA Developers · 1 upvotes · 0 comments - [Beyond Infotainment: Extending Android Automotive OS for Software-defined Vehicles](https://daily.dev/posts/beyond-infotainment-extending-android-automotive-os-for-software-defined-vehicles-prypezxw4) · Android Developers Blog · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Android Auto is finally getting home screen widgets, a feature CarPlay has had for years](https://daily.dev/posts/android-auto-is-finally-getting-home-screen-widgets-a-feature-carplay-has-had-for-years-aax6z3axr) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#tech-news](https://daily.dev/tags/tech-news), [#game-development](https://daily.dev/tags/game-development), [#android](https://daily.dev/tags/android), [#google-play](https://daily.dev/tags/google-play) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/bring-your-android-game-to-the-car-screen-today-id9m4imoy) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Bring your Android game to the car screen today","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/bring-your-android-game-to-the-car-screen-today-id9m4imoy","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/bring-your-android-game-to-the-car-screen-today-id9m4imoy"},"datePublished":"2026-09-21T16:01:01.834Z","dateModified":"2026-09-21T16:01:29.047Z","description":"Google announced that the games category for Android Auto and Android Automotive OS (with Google built-in) has graduated from beta to general availability,...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/75f6a1966046318c4a654be264311e7d?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/75f6a1966046318c4a654be264311e7d?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"Android Developers Blog","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Android Developers Blog","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/t_logo,f_auto/v1/logos/a3d55bb1d63c48e7bd91b833eb5c2c3c","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/androiddev"},"commentCount":6,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/bring-your-android-game-to-the-car-screen-today-id9m4imoy","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":6},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":6}],"keywords":"tech-news,game-development,android,google-play","timeRequired":"PT5M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Android Developers Blog","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/androiddev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Bring your Android game to the car screen today"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/bring-your-android-game-to-the-car-screen-today-id9m4imoy","comment":[{"@type":"Comment","text":"Of all the unholy bad ideas I’ve seen I think this one takes the cake. It’s already at least 3x more dangerous to drive than before 2020. This isn’t going to help.","datePublished":"2026-09-22T00:56:28.305Z","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/iD9M4ImoY#c-XcC5tFnck","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Jared","url":"https://daily.dev/yetzederixx","image":"https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/a/ACg8ocJE7F397eAJcrTtLk_RhHueRbehoNCm6rDryyZ_dkCRVWVh4wYd=s96-c"},"interactionStatistic":{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":7}},{"@type":"Comment","text":"WE DO NOT NEED TO PLAY GAMES WHILE DRIVING GOOGLE","datePublished":"2026-09-23T10:51:55.956Z","dateModified":"2026-09-23T10:52:07.070Z","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/iD9M4ImoY#c-WSe7STzCc","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Starfall :D","url":"https://daily.dev/starfallcodes","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--4xoTqFbk--/f_auto/v1786806197/avatars/avatar_ecPDW57nUVRidLxwsxruz?_a=BAMAMicg0"},"interactionStatistic":{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":2}},{"@type":"Comment","text":"Short puzzle rounds seem perfect for charging stops","datePublished":"2026-09-23T09:26:18.832Z","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/iD9M4ImoY#c-gd1o52z7e","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Agustin Barrientos","url":"https://daily.dev/agustinbarrientos","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--5ayxQnqn--/f_auto/v1788281802/avatars/avatar_wQYYVe5Tbj0NJ7C7qPoa8?_a=BAMAMicg0"},"interactionStatistic":{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":1}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/bring-your-android-game-to-the-car-screen-today-id9m4imoy#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"How do I make my Android game available on Android Auto and Android Automotive OS?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Add android:appCategory=\"game\" to the application element in your manifest, then declare car support: include a CAR_LAUNCHER category in an activity's intent filter for Android Auto (requires Android 15+), and add the android.hardware.type.automotive uses-feature element for Android Automotive OS. 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