With free updates pretty much every month, it would seem Gran Turismo 7 players have it really good. But the sentiment among many players is that they have been quantity over quality.
May 15th saw the arrival of update 1.59 to Gran Turismo 7, with four cars that were prematurely confirmed via the PlayStation 5 home screen. GT7 receives new content every month for the most part, with the exception of the most recent coming in a few weeks late, traditionally it arrives every last Thursday of the month.
Plus with the content never being paid DLC, those on the outside looking in would be forgiven for thinking that players had a pretty decent deal. However, as it may have occurred to many, there has been a noticeable theme with all these updates. In every one of them, there seems to be an effort to add cars that do not interest the community.
Such cars can be identified from all past updates: the Suzuki Carry, Renault Kangoo, Mercedes-Benz Unimog, Toyota Alphard Executive Lounge and even an ambulance and a few Suzuki Jimnys just to name a few. All of which are not exactly the first thing on the mind of fans of cars when we think of ones we want to drive on a racing game.
It would appear that the developers are not slowing down on adding these low performance cars either. A Fiat Panda was spotted being worked on when its designer Giorgetto Giugiaro visited the Polyphony Digital offices.
The argument can be made that Gran Turismo 7 has emphasised the representation of all types of cars as it is centred around car collection, and that includes these slow vans and euroboxes. These cars have been in GT games since the series began, of course. But they seem to be at the expense of so many cars that the community do want.
You need not look far on all of the Gran Turismo social media channels for people in the comments requesting a whole range of cars. Some of those certainly would not include the likes of a Pontiac Aztek, Nissan Micra or a Citroën C3 Aircross. Hopefully we are not giving Polyphony any ideas.
Why these sort of cars are taking priority over the type that the community want, we cannot say for sure. But one thing is for certain, Polyphony can do this because they face no real competition on the PlayStation front, since there is no real competitor that players can defect to if they are not satisfied.
Forza Horizon 5 recently released on the PlayStation 5, and both franchises have occupied the top spot of the circuit racing genre (Forza via the Motorsport series) on their respective consoles. But Horizon is the open world series, therefore it really is not competing with Gran Turismo directly. Then you have more sim-centric titles that have been on console or are coming to console.
These include Assetto Corsa and AC Competizione which are already on console, and there are plans for console releases for AC EVO, Le Mans Ultimate and confirmed console releases for Rennsport and Project Motor Racing. As good as any of these titles may be, it is unlikely that any of them would have that mass market appeal and draw that the GT series has.
In fact, for the most recent real world track added into the game, you have to go all the way back to November 2022 when Road Atlanta got added, there was also the return of Grand Valley in February 2023 as well. Understandably adding tracks is a bigger task than adding cars. Expecting tracks at the same frequency as cars is asking too much.
With it being nearly a year since a new track got added to GT7, it does perhaps signal that development has shifted over to Gran Turismo 8. Or maybe we are getting one next month? As the addition of Eiger Nordwand coincided with the first round of the GT World Series last year, and the first round of this upcoming season is in a few short weeks, this might not be unrealistic.
If it does, what track could it end up being? Surely if we are this late on in the lifecycle of the game, will they go to the efforts to add a track that they would need to licence? Many GT Original circuits that are beloved like Autumn Ring, Mid-Field Raceway, Apricot Hill etc. could be in contention to be reintroduced. Currently there are 39 tracks in GT7 with multiple configurations, so we are not exactly short on choice.
Just listing off some real world circuits, we have the likes of Le Mans, Nürburgring Nordschleife, Mount Panorama, Spa-Francorchamps, Suzuka, Monza, Laguna Seca, Red Bull Ring and so much more, not even accounting for some amazing originals like Dragon Trail Seaside and Maggiore.
If at this stage we do not end up getting any new tracks, it will not be as much of a shame. But then there are some other elements that should perhaps get more focus than others.
Eventually, the Sophy AI will be able to be raced across all modes but it is rolling out rather slowly. Then as far as what else arrives in updates, we get a few new races in World Circuits, the occasional new 'Extra Menu' which provides a prize for collecting three specific cars, and seemingly every time without fail, a new feature in the 'Scapes' photography mode.
Tired of these slow cars? You can always add a personal touch. Image: eve-ly from gran-turismo.com
Ultimately, hardly ground-breaking stuff but it works for Polyphony, and there is nothing to indicate that they will have to step up. Whilst playerd are not forced into buying the content that the game gets, it can be frustrating constantly getting such lacklustre and underwhelming cars.
Then again, you can always perform an engine swap in GT Auto and put every performance upgrade possible on it.
What would you want to see in a future update to Gran Turismo 7? Let us know in the comments below and join the discussion in our Gran Turismo 7 forum!
May 15th saw the arrival of update 1.59 to Gran Turismo 7, with four cars that were prematurely confirmed via the PlayStation 5 home screen. GT7 receives new content every month for the most part, with the exception of the most recent coming in a few weeks late, traditionally it arrives every last Thursday of the month.
Plus with the content never being paid DLC, those on the outside looking in would be forgiven for thinking that players had a pretty decent deal. However, as it may have occurred to many, there has been a noticeable theme with all these updates. In every one of them, there seems to be an effort to add cars that do not interest the community.
Such cars can be identified from all past updates: the Suzuki Carry, Renault Kangoo, Mercedes-Benz Unimog, Toyota Alphard Executive Lounge and even an ambulance and a few Suzuki Jimnys just to name a few. All of which are not exactly the first thing on the mind of fans of cars when we think of ones we want to drive on a racing game.
It would appear that the developers are not slowing down on adding these low performance cars either. A Fiat Panda was spotted being worked on when its designer Giorgetto Giugiaro visited the Polyphony Digital offices.
Why Add These Cars?
I think I can speak for a lot of players when I say, I am not quickly loading up Gran Turismo 7 to drive these sorts of cars. I can appreciate a few lower powered cars. It is not just about the absurdly quick Vision GT cars, the GT3 racecars or road going hypercars - I, for one, would love to have a Renault Twizy in GT7.The argument can be made that Gran Turismo 7 has emphasised the representation of all types of cars as it is centred around car collection, and that includes these slow vans and euroboxes. These cars have been in GT games since the series began, of course. But they seem to be at the expense of so many cars that the community do want.
You need not look far on all of the Gran Turismo social media channels for people in the comments requesting a whole range of cars. Some of those certainly would not include the likes of a Pontiac Aztek, Nissan Micra or a Citroën C3 Aircross. Hopefully we are not giving Polyphony any ideas.
Why these sort of cars are taking priority over the type that the community want, we cannot say for sure. But one thing is for certain, Polyphony can do this because they face no real competition on the PlayStation front, since there is no real competitor that players can defect to if they are not satisfied.
Forza Horizon 5 recently released on the PlayStation 5, and both franchises have occupied the top spot of the circuit racing genre (Forza via the Motorsport series) on their respective consoles. But Horizon is the open world series, therefore it really is not competing with Gran Turismo directly. Then you have more sim-centric titles that have been on console or are coming to console.
These include Assetto Corsa and AC Competizione which are already on console, and there are plans for console releases for AC EVO, Le Mans Ultimate and confirmed console releases for Rennsport and Project Motor Racing. As good as any of these titles may be, it is unlikely that any of them would have that mass market appeal and draw that the GT series has.
Not Just Cars
Another aspect about these updates that is lacking: new tracks. The last update to feature a new circuit was back in July 2024 with the return of Eiger Nordwand, a fictional circuit that only exists in GT titles. Before that was all the way back in November 2023, with another track that is not real in the form of the Lake Louise snow track.In fact, for the most recent real world track added into the game, you have to go all the way back to November 2022 when Road Atlanta got added, there was also the return of Grand Valley in February 2023 as well. Understandably adding tracks is a bigger task than adding cars. Expecting tracks at the same frequency as cars is asking too much.
With it being nearly a year since a new track got added to GT7, it does perhaps signal that development has shifted over to Gran Turismo 8. Or maybe we are getting one next month? As the addition of Eiger Nordwand coincided with the first round of the GT World Series last year, and the first round of this upcoming season is in a few short weeks, this might not be unrealistic.
If it does, what track could it end up being? Surely if we are this late on in the lifecycle of the game, will they go to the efforts to add a track that they would need to licence? Many GT Original circuits that are beloved like Autumn Ring, Mid-Field Raceway, Apricot Hill etc. could be in contention to be reintroduced. Currently there are 39 tracks in GT7 with multiple configurations, so we are not exactly short on choice.
Just listing off some real world circuits, we have the likes of Le Mans, Nürburgring Nordschleife, Mount Panorama, Spa-Francorchamps, Suzuka, Monza, Laguna Seca, Red Bull Ring and so much more, not even accounting for some amazing originals like Dragon Trail Seaside and Maggiore.
If at this stage we do not end up getting any new tracks, it will not be as much of a shame. But then there are some other elements that should perhaps get more focus than others.
What Else?
One feature that has been of major interest to the community, the advanced Sophy AI. Over time, the ability to run this level of AI difficulty has become available in a greater range of tracks, making it more challenging to race against. In the March update, Sophy AI was able to be raced in custom races but as far as campaign events go, it is limited to the old AI that can start half a lap ahead and be caught up easily.Eventually, the Sophy AI will be able to be raced across all modes but it is rolling out rather slowly. Then as far as what else arrives in updates, we get a few new races in World Circuits, the occasional new 'Extra Menu' which provides a prize for collecting three specific cars, and seemingly every time without fail, a new feature in the 'Scapes' photography mode.
Tired of these slow cars? You can always add a personal touch. Image: eve-ly from gran-turismo.com
Ultimately, hardly ground-breaking stuff but it works for Polyphony, and there is nothing to indicate that they will have to step up. Whilst playerd are not forced into buying the content that the game gets, it can be frustrating constantly getting such lacklustre and underwhelming cars.
Then again, you can always perform an engine swap in GT Auto and put every performance upgrade possible on it.
What would you want to see in a future update to Gran Turismo 7? Let us know in the comments below and join the discussion in our Gran Turismo 7 forum!
