Uber, the multibillion-dollar on-demand rides company, wouldn’t be able to execute its global grand plan without the million drivers who have offered rides on its platform. Over the past five years, the company has relied on myriad tactics to lure new drivers in and keep them happy: rallies, ads, word-of-mouth, even a quarterly magazine. Now it's trying another strategy: a videogame.

The company today released UberDRIVE, an iOS game that essentially mimics what it’s like to drive for Uber. Players "pick up" passengers and drive them from point A to point B. The more efficient the route they choose, the more points they can rack up in the game. If players earn consistently high ratings, they can unlock new cars and explore new areas of the city. The game also includes fun facts on important landmarks in the city, as well as a "trivia mode" where riders quiz drivers (the player) on certain destinations on the map. At launch, the game only includes a virtual San Francisco, though it's available to play nationwide. If the game is successful, Uber says it will add new cities to the app soon.

“UberDRIVE was designed as a fun and engaging resource for our driver-partners to hone their navigation skills if they choose to,” Mike Truong, a senior product manager at Uber, wrote in the blog post announcing the mobile game. “It’s also a great way for prospective drivers to experience firsthand what it’s like to drive with Uber.” If those prospective drivers like the game, Truong says, they can sign up for Uber and begin the screening process right in the app.

Uber

At first glance, releasing UberDRIVE might seem like a silly ploy. But the company has been wrestling with an image of corporate villainy stemming from a series of unsavory—and very public—blunders over the past few months, many related directly to its drivers. Uber has reportedly misled drivers about how much money they can make on the service. It offers car financing to drivers, but some say the terms of the program burden them with subprime loans that could be inflating a bubble in the auto market. Critics also accuse the company of marketing the program to people with bad or no credit.

Uber is also facing seemingly endless lawsuits, including legal action over privacy, tipping, misclassification of workers, and accidents. The company was also apparently relyihng on much more hardball recruiting tactics, including arming recruiters with burner phones and credit cards to poach drivers from competing services.

Suffice it to say, Uber has good reason employ more benign tactics to get new Uber drivers driving. A game could be one way to generate some much-needed good will. It’s also worth noting that since Uber still technically employs independent contractors, not employees with benefits, it can’t require training for its drivers. UberDRIVE, in the end, could serve as yet another workaround, like so many other workarounds upon which Uber has built its billion-dollar business.