Tencent Partners With Mercedes-Benz and Electronic Arts, To Bring New 'Need for Speed™' Mobile To The Chinese Market

The game will offer 100 million square meters of open world with 500 different play points, accessible via Bluetooth gaming controller for an immersive in-car gaming experience.

BEIJING, April 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Tencent together with Mercedes-Benz and Electronic Arts (EA) announced their partnership at the Auto China 2024 that will make in-car gaming even more exciting. An open-world mobile racing game named '极品飞车™:集结' in Chinese, roughly translating as 'Need for Speed™: Assemble', will be available in Mercedes-Benz cars in China by the end of the year. The game will be made available via over-the-air (OTA) on Mercedes-Benz vehicles equipped with the third generation MBUX, a precursor to the Mercedes-Benz Operating System, MB.OS.

The new mobile game was launched amid the popular 'Need for Speed™' gaming franchise that just celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2024. It is an open world racing game developed by Tencent's TiMi Studio and licensed by Electronic Arts. Building on the success of the 'Need for Speed™'  franchise that has already been played by hundreds of millions of players worldwide, this new game combines street driving and track racing on internationally recognized circuits and fictional cities.  Users will be able to use either their Bluetooth gaming controller or play the game via the touch-sensitive screens to play the game when the vehicle is stationary.

"Tencent and Mercedes-Benz have an established and close collaboration. Tencent sees this in-car gaming partnership as a new beginning to support Mercedes-Benz in developing products and services that better cater to the needs of local users in China. Together, we aim to explore innovative approaches to push the boundaries of automotive value, enriching the driving experience for customers," shared Dowson Tong, Tencent Senior Executive Vice President and CEO of Tencent Cloud and Smart Industries Group.

Tencent and Mercedes-Benz have been cooperating in the field of smart vehicles for many years. In 2015, Tencent and Mercedes-Benz launched 'MyCar,' to revolutionize the in-car experience for Chinese users. They signed a memorandum in July 2022 to strategically collaborate to explore high-level automated driving, utilizing cloud computing, big data, and AI. This marks a new start, driving innovation in in-car gaming and cloud services, and advancing intelligent automotive experiences.

Media Contact: Judy Wong, judywong@global.tencent.com, Global Communications