Peloton launches its first exercise game for connected bike owners

Ring shaped adventure for the Switch was a reminder that people love gamified workouts. Now, Peloton is stepping into the arena with its debut fitness game titled “Lanebreak”. The rhythm-based game is available on the fitness company’s stationary bikes and has a simple setup: players control a rolling tire on a track by pedaling and changing lanes with the resistance button when facing multiple obstacles. This being Peloton, the entire game is synchronized to a musical soundtrack. This will all sound very familiar to anyone who has played a procedurally generated musical racing game. Audiosurf.

Lanebreak is the culmination of months of testing that saw select users play mini-games in two-week pilots. The idea is to export some of the basic mechanics of the game, mainly rewards and progression, to encourage Platoon members to exercise more. Music, according to Peloton, acts like the DNA that connects his regular exercise classes to his new game in an effort to acclimate novice players. For the moment, Lanebreak is still in early access mode with a full launch slated for this winter.

The challenge is that there are plenty of fitness game rivals out in the wild, although few have the brand recognition to match Peloton. Zwift, for example, offers an app with multiplayer cycling and running in a virtual world that users can interact with using their personal treadmill or bike trainer. While the Supernatural VR training software transports you to exotic settings for its Beat the saber– style routines.