Gran Turismo 7 For PS5 Faces Lengthy Delay As COVID-19 Throws Development Off Track
While it was never going to a launch title for the PlayStation 5, development studio Polyphony Digital had every intention of wrapping up work on Gran Turismo 7 this year for a 2021 release by publisher Sony Interactive Entertainment. That is no longer going to happen. Covid-19 has thrown a wrench into those plans, causing the highly anticipated game to be delayed until sometime next year.
The latest installment in the popular racing simulation series was formally introduced last year during the PS5 reveal event. A launch video showcased the game'ss high resolution graphics with real-time ray tracing effects, and even teased onlookers with some footage of actual gameplay on the PS5. If you missed it, here you go...
The trailer currently sits at a ratio of 148,000 likes to 4,600 dislikes, to give you an idea of the level of anticipation for the eight installment in the Gran Turismo series (Gran Turismo Sport sits between Gran Turismo 6 and Gran Turismo 7), which has delivered high octane racing action to fans dating all the back to the original release in 1997.
Confirmation of the delay came from a Sony representative when GQ Magazine was interviewing PlayStation's Jim Ryan. When asked about development on Gran Turismo 7, the representative ended up fielding the question, noting "production challenges" arising from the unique situation we all have found ourselves in for the past year.
"GT7 has been impacted by Covid-related production challenges and therefore will shift from 2021 to 2022. With the ongoing pandemic, it’s a dynamic and changing situation and some critical aspects of game production have been slowed over the past several months. We’ll share more specifics on GT7’s release date when available," Sony said.
Every indication to this point is that it will be worth the wait. In addition to tapping into the ray tracing capablities of the PS5, the game will also leverage the DualSense controller with advanced haptic feedback, 3D spatial audio, and the console's PCIe 4.0 SSD for faster loading times.
