Tesla has made a surprising move by dropping Steam gaming support inside its vehicles for new Model S and Model X buyers. Despite investing heavily in integrating video games into its in-car entertainment system, the decision to integrate Valve’s Steam platform was unexpected.

Steam offers a vast library of games, including high-performance titles that were previously unavailable in Tesla vehicles. In late 2022, Tesla introduced the Steam Beta native app in new Model S and Model X vehicles, but the feature is now being discontinued.

New buyers receiving Model S and Model X vehicles were informed by Tesla that their gaming computers would be updated, rendering them incapable of playing Steam games. However, existing owners are not affected by this change.

This decision follows Tesla’s pattern of dropping apps in new vehicles while retaining them in previously delivered vehicles, similar to what was done with the Disney Plus app. It appears that Tesla may have observed low usage of Steam gaming inside its vehicles, leading to the discontinuation of the feature.

While the integration of Steam gaming was an intriguing concept, some believe that using a dedicated gaming device such as a gaming laptop or Steam Deck provides a better gaming experience within the Tesla. The limited gaming capabilities of the vehicle may have contributed to the decline in Steam usage.