Sony's premier racing sim, Gran Turismo, generates plenty of buzz with each new entry in the series. Fans are always excited to see how photorealistic the cars will look, and how detailed the environments will be. Unfortunately, not much has been revealed about the game since June, beside some leaked PS5 box art. But an ad on YouTube just dropped a big hint about Gran Turismo 7's release window.
The Gran Turismo franchise was one of the first racing simulation games to really catch on, when most console racing games had an arcade feel to them. Even on the PS1, Gran Turismo had an impressive roster of cars that actually looked like their real life counterparts. The series has been a Sony flagship since those early days. To compete, Microsoft launched the Forza series, and most recently added Forza Motorsport 7 to the Xbox Game Pass.
The iconic status bestowed upon the Gran Turismo franchise is why any little detail about Gran Turismo 7 is a big deal for fans. In a YouTube ad, originally reported to be airing in parts of Canada, a still of Gran Turismo 7 appears to promote the PS5. Written in French in the corner of the image is the phrase "release planned for the first half of 2021."
While that is still a fairly wide open target, it gives fans some idea of when to expect the game to drop. While little has been revealed outside of the announcement trailer, a few details about GT7 have been uncovered. Sony confirmed recently that Gran Turismo 7 hopes to run at 4K, with 60FPS, as well as HDR and ray tracing. With the graphics pushed up that high, the game will surely look pretty impressive. Whether or not the game can deliver on promises of such high performance remains to be seen.
One aspect of these high fidelity racing sim games that matters to a number of players is which cars make the lineup. Gran Turismo has had a very consistent, and solid, lineup of cars to choose from. Recently, however, the franchise saw Toyota jump to Forza. Not a deal breaker, but a loss of some good cars, for sure.
In an age where console exclusives are a dying breed, Gran Turismo remains one of the big draws for the PS5. Another title rumored to be a PS5 exclusive is a new Silent Hill game. With a one-two punch of exclusives like that, Sony's console is looking pretty good.
Gran Turismo 7 is likely being released in the first half of 2021 on PS5.
Source: GT Planet
