With GT Sport fast approaching its second anniversary, and with the PS5 on the near horizon, it's no surprise that questions are being asked of developer Polyphony Digital over its plans for the next generation. Gran Turismo is, after all, an old-school system seller, the type of racing game that can effortlessly demonstrate the graphical prowess and performance of any new console.
Thankfully, Gran Turismo series creator Kazunori Yamauchi has confirmed that the next Gran Turismo is in development with the studio eager to take its time and learn the right lessons from the release of the somewhat controversial GT Sport. “I think in terms of races themselves and physics GT Sport has really reached the best place that we’ve ever reached – we’re at a very good place,” Yamauchi told gtplanet, going on to explain that its next effort will build upon the technology found in GT Sport but the execution could well shift.
“On the other hand, obviously we’re working on the next Gran Turismo already, and the world of sport we’ve achieved through GT Sport is something I’ve always imagined to be the future of Gran Turismo. We were able to establish that now.”
Polyphony is hard at work creating new content for GT Sport, all in an effort to remedy the lack of single-player content the game initially launched with. That means that Gran Turismo PS5 is the most likely outcome here, although whether it's GT Sport 2 or Gran Turismo 7 remains to be seen. Yamauchi offered only this as a suggestion: “I think the next title that we’re going to create will be a combination of the past, present and future – a complete form of Gran Turismo.”
The only thing we really know for certain is that Yamauchi is deeply interested in exploring more opportunities with virtual reality. "I really like VR; I’m one to believe in the possibilities of it, and it’s very suited for a driving game," he said, noting that he believes the increase in power in the next-generation will open up a new array of possibilities – and that he'll be there exploring them as soon as he can. "We’ll make sure to follow that."
Gran Turismo games tend to take three-to-four years to develop, so expect an official announcement to be a little ways off. Still, given Yamauchi's excitement, it would sound as if a Gran Turismo 7 for PS5 (or GT Sport 2, I suppose) is almost a given.
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