Hyundai’s Insteroid Is The Concept Car You Can Actually Drive (Virtually)

Retro Car, Retro Video Game

Concept cars have always been about dreaming of the future, but Hyundai’s Insteroid concept takes that dream and makes it playable. This retro-styled concept car, showcased at Gamescom 2025, comes with its own arcade-style video game featuring it as the main character. 

The Insteroid isn’t just a flight of fancy, it’s based on Hyundai’s real-world Inster electric car. The Inster’s been setting new standards with its quirky, cartoonish style and roomy interiors in markets like South Korea, the Middle East and Europe. The Insteroid, on the other hand, can be experienced through the retro game, available to play on Hyundai’s website soon.

Art Imitates Life, Or The Other Way Around?

What makes the Insteroid concept particularly cool is how it transforms the Inster’s already distinctive design language into something straight out of a retro video game. Hyundai’s been using the retro theme to great effect on its Ioniq range of EVs, and the Inster, Hyundai’s smallest EV, also features the pixel theme throughout. 

The production Inster already features parametric pixel LED lighting elements, and the Insteroid concept amplifies these pixelated design cues with motorsport styling that looks like it rolled straight out of an 8-bit racing game. The gaming-inspired aesthetics aren’t just for show, they perfectly complement the retro arcade game that Hyundai developed specifically for this concept.

Automotive Marketing For Millennials

Creating a video game for a concept car is brilliant marketing that serves multiple purposes. First, it makes the Insteroid accessible to a global audience who might never see the physical concept. Gaming allows people to interact with the vehicle in an engaging, memorable way that static displays just can’t match.

The retro arcade aesthetic also taps into nostalgia while showcasing future mobility. By presenting its electric vehicle technology through the lens of classic gaming, especially at a gathering like Gamescom, Hyundai makes its EVs feel both familiar and exciting. It’s a clever way to demonstrate that electric cars can be genuinely fun, even if only in the virtual world.