The refers to a popular, unofficial web-based project created by Japanese developer Katsuomi Kobayashi (Frame Synthesis Inc.) that allows users to virtually "drive" a vehicle across real-world satellite imagery. Unlike official Google features, this tool is a third-party application that utilizes the Google Maps API to provide a unique, unrestricted exploration experience.
Developers realized that if they could stream these tiles into a game engine (like Unity or Unreal Engine) in real-time, they could build a driving game where the "level" was the entire planet. 3d driving simulator in google maps