Qatar Airways
In-Flight Cloud Gaming HMI
Showcasing Starlink-powered multiplayer gaming directly from aircraft seat-back screens.
Video summary
The demo shows the in-flight gaming HMI flow: adjacent passengers use seat-back screens and Xbox controllers, switch between local and cloud play, and join a multiplayer experience through a Starlink-style connectivity concept.
The context
As airlines begin rolling out high-bandwidth Starlink connectivity across international fleets, the next frontier for In-Flight Entertainment (IFE) is real-time interactive gaming. To demonstrate this capability, Qatar Airways commissioned a proof-of-concept (POC) HMI application. The goal was to simulate how passengers sitting next to each other on a flight could plug in standard controllers and enjoy Fortnite together directly from their seat-back HMI screens.
The challenge
The application had to demonstrate two execution paths seamlessly: low-latency local play (for aircraft architectures featuring seat-localized computing power) and Starlink-powered cloud play (for lighter client hardware). Additionally, the HMI needed to be optimized for typical 16:10 aviation displays, support full hardware navigation via Xbox controllers (D-Pad navigation, select, back), and handle focus-regaining flows so that exiting a local game session returns the passenger immediately back to the launcher UI.
The approach & dual-mode flow
We architected the launcher in Unity, separating the HMI carousel navigation from the two core gameplay modes:
- -Embedded WebView Cloud Play - When a user selects "Play in Cloud," the launcher loads Xbox Cloud Gaming inside an embedded browser WebView. The application instantly configures the Xbox controller inputs for cloud interaction, letting adjacent passengers sign in and join the same lobby (Duo or Team) to play together in real time.
- -Foreground Local Play - For setups with a local installation, "Play Now" launches Fortnite natively in Windowed Fullscreen. This bypasses web latency entirely. Once the game closes, focus immediately and programmatically snaps back to the HMI launcher.
- -Aviation Input Optimization - The HMI supports primary controller navigation (Left Stick/D-pad to move, A to select, B to go back) alongside standard touch screen and mouse/keyboard fallbacks.
What was built
- -Interactive HMI Launcher - A controller-ready interface optimized for 16:10 screens, featuring a media carousel, a quick "Jump to Top" navigation button, and detailed game pages.
- -Adjacent Seat Simulation - A dual-PC hardware setup simulating adjacent passenger seats, allowing local co-op and friend-list matchmaking inside the cloud lobby.
- -Embedded Web Browser Engine - Integrated browser engine to render Xbox Cloud Gaming sessions dynamically, persisting user Xbox accounts between flights.
Demo limitations & future integration
As a proof-of-concept built to demonstrate feasibility to executive boards, this demo operates under specific constraints: performance relies entirely on external network speed, there is no custom backend matchmaking or local database tracking, and it does not currently interface with Qatar Airways' actual production IFE hardware or billing systems. It acts as the visual and functional validation prototype for future fleet integration plans.