Peloton is getting into the gaming game, attempting to combine video games and exercise.
The Verge first reported that the company is planning a game tentatively dubbed “Lanebreak,” in which users will control a large, rolling wheel with their bikes. Riders will modify their speed and resistance to hit goals and score points in the game. They’ll also be able to control the type of music and difficulty of the game.
The game will roll out a beta mode this year and will eventually be available to only Peloton bike owners and subscribers. The planned official launch is scheduled for 2022.
Peloton confirmed to Mashable that it was working on a project tentatively called “Lanebreak.” The company noted in an email that it was a “work in progress, we are testing with Members now, and the mechanics are not yet final.”
Here’s how the game looks in its current iteration.
In “Lanebreak,” you control a wheel avatar.
Credit: Screenshot: Peloton
Ashley Carman of the Verge wrote that they tested it once and “found it boring and confusing to follow, especially compared to instructor-led classes.”
Carman wrote, however, that they typically prefer Peloton classes based on music and instructors. There could, of course, be folks who prefer a gamified version of spinning.
I recently tested out the Ergatta rower, and the planned game from Peloton sounds a lot like what Ergatta does. The rower uses games effectively to motivate you to go faster or pull harder; to hit goals or outpace a competitor. It seems reasonable that Peloton might make a game to do the same.
Peloton grew wildly during the worst of the pandemic, in part because a number of its instructors proved to be charismatic, helpful trainers while folks were cooped up. As my colleague Nicole Gallucci wrote in April, for lots of folks, “Peloton and its instructors became saviors in a hellish year at home.”
The game might never be as popular as instructor-led classes, but I’d be interested in trying it out.
