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Sony’s collaboration with Honda to make cars that streamed PlayStation 5 games has now been scrapped.
Back in December, Sony and Honda announced a partnership for the Afeela 1 range of vehicles, which were set to launch at some point this year. The cars’ key selling point appeared to be the ability to play PS4 or PS5 games, with screens installed for passengers in the back.
It’s unclear how many Afeela cars Sony and Honda realistically expected to sell — or indeed, how many customers it managed to attract with its earlier announcement. Regardless, the companies said today that the whole scheme was being scrapped, with reservations fees refunded for those who did register interest.
A statement from Sony Honda Mobility (SHM), the companies’ joint venture firm, noted that it had now “decided to discontinue the development and launch of its first model, Afeela 1, and its second model of Afeela vehicles that had been under development” following internal discussions.
“Since its establishment in September 2022, SHM has aimed to develop and sell high value-added mobility products and to provide mobility-related services by combining the technologies, expertise, and development capabilities of Sony and Honda,” the statement reads.
“However, as a result of Honda’s reassessment of its automobile electrification strategy announced on March 12, 2026, SHM will not be able to utilize certain technologies and assets that were originally planned to be provided by Honda at the time of SHM’s initial business planning. In light of this change, SHM has determined that it does not have a viable path forward to bring the models to market as originally planned.”
The Afeela vehicles were already electric, so it’s not clear what has changed here other than, presumably, the whole thing not attracting much interest. Adding to the confusion, the above statement is hosted on a web page that still links to purchase options for the Afeela, which remains listed as launching in “late 2026” priced at $102,900 at the time of writing. A further model is also still listed for launch in 2027.
While the ability to play games in the backseat sounded fun, the Afeela would only have provided an option for Remote Play — meaning you would also need your console switched on back at home in order to stream gameplay. As with any streaming technology, there would also have been caveats. Sony recommended you had a “stable connection of at 15Mbps… for a smooth Remote Play experience.”
Now, the only place you’ll be able to drive the Afeela is in… a PlayStation game. A prototype was added to Gran Turismo 7, though you can’t sit in the back and play further PS5 games while in-game.
Today’s announcement comes after reports yesterday that PlayStation had shut down Dark Outlaw Games, a studio hired by the console maker to make an unknown first-party title, as well as laid off a number of other individuals involved in mobile development. It’s the third Sony studio shuttered in 18 months, following Concord developer Firewalk Studios in late 2024, and Demon’s Souls and Shadow of the Colossus Remake studio Bluepoint Games just last month.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
