Widely considered by many to be the godfather of racing games, Gran Turismo has evolved greatly since its debut on the original PlayStation back in late 1997. As Sony’s consoles grew in terms of sales numbers and sheer hardware power, GT games followed suit by progressively expanding their vehicle roster, improving the handling model, and pushing the envelope in all respects.
GT6 remains the latest mainline Gran Turismo game to be released thus far, hitting the store shelves in December 2013. The sixth installment stayed true to its roots by simply updating the number of cars, tracks, and car customization options, without drastically changing the formula in any way.
It’s safe to say that GT6 represented the PS3’s last hurrah, being that its release came a mere month after the launch of PS4. Ever since then, fans have been holding their breath in anticipation of the series’ 8th generation entry, and their prayers have been answered in 2017… sort of.
Enter Gran Turismo Sport…
Gran Turismo 7: Everything We Know
While not being considered a bad game necessarily, GT Sport didn’t reach the high standards set by GT6, with many harsh words being aimed towards its significantly lower number of cars, a lackluster selection of tracks, and poor single-player content. It was clear that Polyphony Digital was making an effort to sail into esports waters, which can be deemed fairly successful judging from the number of active players.
Actions were taken to amend the game’s faults through a host of significant updates, but alas, the damage had already been done, and many traditional fans were left disappointed and unsatisfied.
With the PlayStation 5 release drawing closer, it became clear that the golden days of PS4 are slowly coming to an end, which begs the question: will the PS4 be Sony’s first home console to be left without its own Gran Turismo main series installment? Stay tuned!
Gran Turismo 7 Trailer
Be sure to send us a link if you find one! So far there hasn’t been any video material regarding the game, apart from a short demonstration shown as part of a live stream showcase. Unfortunately, no recording of this event can be found anywhere on the internet (well, we haven’t checked the deep web), so all we have to rely on is sparse official info, rumors and leaks floating around the web. There is, however, a fan trailer that’s just as good as the real thing and does the job of hyping you up pretty well.
Take a look!
Gran Turismo 7 News
Unfortunately, what we’ve gathered so far can only be considered rumors, since Polyphony and Sony have pretty much been giving us the silent treatment ever since the development of GT7 had been confirmed by Kazunori Yamaguchi in early 2018. We suspect that it might have something to do with the recent success of their rival franchise, Forza. Microsoft’s racing series made a giant leap by releasing both Forza Motorsport 6 and Forza Horizon 3 for PC and Xbox One in September 2016, which was surely seen as a gauntlet being thrown at the feet of Sony.
Not only did Microsoft use Gran Turismo’s absence from the PS4 by releasing sequels to both their mainline and spin-off series, but they also decided to grab the attention of arcade and sim racer fans alike.
In plain English: They had their cake AND ate it too!
Though the playing field has been somewhat leveled with the release of GT Sport, it was clear that a much stronger retaliation was needed to make the race neck-and-neck. All things considered, it’s understandable why Sony keeps its creation under a veil of secrecy, which speaks volumes about how serious they are about dethroning their rival’s baby. Let them fight!
Gran Turismo 7 Release Date
While there’s a significant lack of official news coming from Sony or Polyphony Digital, the rumors are sprouting up like mushrooms after rain. And where there’s rain, there’s fire! Wait, that’s not how it goes…
First things first: when can we expect GT7 to be released? Again, aside from the fact that a new GT game has been in the works since the release of GT Sport, there’s lots of scarcity concerning its release date. What we can do, however, is draw our own assumptions based on the release pattern of the previous GT games.
The trend of releasing two games per home console has become a staple for Gran Turismo, with a 2-3 year gap between the games’ releases. With Gran Turismo and Gran Turismo 2 coming out in 1997 and 1999 respectively, and GT3 and GT4 following the same template by launching in 2001 and 2004 respectively. GT5 and GT6 followed in their footsteps by debuting in 2010 and 2013 respectively, and GT Sport came out in October 2017.
Based on these examples, it’s safe to expect GT7’s release somewhere in between the 4th quarter of 2020 and the 1st quarter of 2021. These estimates coincide with the release of Sony’s PS5, and its rival, the Xbox Series X, which are all confirmed to be launched in Holiday 2020. This leads us to the next question: will GT7 be the first launch title in the series?
Gran Turismo 7: PS4 and/or PS5?
You guessed it: no official info (see a pattern?). Though based on some interviews and statements given by either Kazunori Yamaguchi or other Sony/Polyphony Digital representatives, there’s a high chance of GT7 being the first Gran Turismo game on the PS5.
When talking about GT Sport while it was still in development, Yamaguchi has stated that the car models and textures were ‘over-specced’ for the PS4 Pro and future PS consoles and has expressed confidence in the PS5 potentially being able to run GT Sport in 8K. So, if Polyphony has started thinking about the PS5 way back in 2017, that implies that GT7 is being developed with the sole intention of utilizing the most out of brand spanking new hardware, courtesy of PS5.
On the other hand, Sony has confirmed that the PS5 will be backward compatible with the PS4 and that their dev team is working diligently on securing complete compatibility (fingers crossed!). What they meant by the term ‘complete compatibility’ is yet to be determined, but it’s reasonable to suppose that Polyphony is working on bringing GT7 to both the PS4 and PS5, with the latter version being the graphically superior one.
Whatever you may think about the gameplay aspects of GT Sport, you simply cannot give it slack in the visual department – the latest Gran Turismo outing simply looks gorgeous! With that said, we’re certain the PS4 is capable of so much more in the hands of skillful developers. Keep in mind that Polyphony has always had the privilege of having access to Sony’s console hardware way before their launch dates, which gave them a significant head start in developing the latest Gran Turismo games.
With the PS4 having spent nearly seven years on the market, by now they should be able to know the PS4’s specs by heart. In case of a PS4 release, there’s no doubt in our minds that Polyphony will make it one of the best looking games on the system!
Gran Turismo 7 in VR 2.0?
Back in April 2019, a certain Dutch blog has revealed that the PS5 will be launching bundled with a brand-new next-gen Playstation VR headset, widely known as PSVR 2.0. While the news of a revamped VR set was enough to grab our attention, our interest peaked with the thought of experiencing a next-gen Gran Turismo game through the lens of an advanced VR headset.
Couple that with stunning 4K resolution graphics running at 60fps, and you can bet our mouths are watering with excitement!
Sadly, everything regarding the PS4, Gran Turismo 7, or the PSV4 2.0 is strictly kept under wraps, lest nosey competitors get a whiff of any juicy and jealously guarded scoops. Though GT Sport remains the first and only VR compatible GT game so far, its limited game modes meant that we had to wait for the next generation of consoles in order to get a fully-fledged VR GT experience.
There’s a strong chance of Sony launching the PS5 bundled with GT7 and PSVR 2.0, thereby making a strong case for their flagship console and making rival fanboys (and fangirls!) question their brand loyalty.
Conclusion
With so much questionable information hovering across cyberspace, nothing remains certain. Both Sony and Microsoft have been exceptionally secretive as they prepare for round 3 of their neverending console boxing match. A console is only as good as its exclusives, and Gran Turismo has always remained a strong incentive for sim racing aficionados that kept them coming back for more generation after generation.
Such levels of confidentiality indicate that big things are in store for the long-running racing series and that Sony is preparing something special to kickstart the 9th console generation just right. Christmas 2020 can’t come soon enough!