Rivian’s Halloween software surprise is back with a swamp-themed car costume, plus many more haunting treats.
At Rivian, Halloween is one of our favorite times of the year, offering the perfect opportunity to use our vehicle’s software to surprise and delight our owner community. Our “Car Costumes” are a fun illustration of how software can bring new features, capabilities, and even a little bit of magic to your R1 vehicle.
This Halloween season, prepare to venture deep into the bayou. Our over-the-air update begins rolling out today and is inspired by “Bayou Country”—the newest chapter in our Real Rivian Adventures campaign. From October 21 through November 1, you can transform your Rivian into a festive, swamp-themed Halloween party on wheels.
Unleash the all-new “Spooky Swamp” Car Costume
The all-new Spooky Swamp Car Costume transforms both Gen 1 and Gen 2 vehicle’s entire sensory experience with a custom soundscape and eerie lighting. Once activated, you’ll find swamp-themed videos across all three interior screens. Plus, look out for hidden surprises!
The real magic happens on the outside. Gen 2 vehicles can choose from four new exterior light and sound effects that appear on both the front and back of the vehicle (thanks to Gen 2's full-color LED bars), and Gen 1 has one exterior light option and three interior sound effects. You can either activate manually, or turn on the “Motion” setting for extra mayhem, allowing you to set your vehicle to react with lights and sounds whenever someone walks by.
The immersive experience continues inside the cabin. You can set the mood with four new music tracks and trigger six short, spooky sound effects to surprise passengers. Gen 2 vehicles will also feature flickery, overhead cabin lighting for extra swampy ambiance.
A Few Easter Eggs
“Crafting our 2025 Halloween experience has been a uniquely fun design challenge. We combined interactive mobile and vehicle controls, animated character designs, camera behaviors, 3D video and Unreal Engine scenery, poetry, lighting, sound and music, into something only Rivian could pull off. The passion and dedication from all the teams involved in this is a (spooky) inspiration year after year.” — Erik Glaser, Director, UX Design
How to Activate Halloween Mode
- Make sure your vehicle has downloaded and installed the latest software update (version .38) and that you have the latest version of the mobile app, 3.6.0.
- Open your Rivian mobile app and tap the “Let’s Get Spooky” card to activate the Spooky Swamp costume.
- From there, you can customize your exterior and interior effects.
Live from New York: A Times Square Takeover
This Halloween, the spooky fun isn't just for Rivian owners. We’re highlighting our vehicle’s spooky smart perception abilities with a haunted, swamp-inspired playground in the heart of New York City. Join us in Times Square on October 21 from 10 AM to 8 PM for a one-of-a-kind interactive experience.
The event has several must-see attractions. A few of our favorites? Guests will experience an interactive LED wall where you can step into our spooky swamp and watch your silhouette transform into a certain costumed creature of our own. You’ll even get a video of your transformation to share as a haunting keepsake. The adventure continues with our ‘Ride & Riddle’ experience, a gamified ride-along in a R1S where you can show off your trivia skills and even possibly take home some swag.
We hope you enjoy this year’s tricks and treats as much as we do! We can’t wait to see how you bring Rivian’s Spooky Swamp to your neighborhood. Happy frunk-or-treating! Check out the release notes for more details on this OTA.
