Sony has announced that the latest entry in its flagship racing sim franchise, Gran Turismo 7, has been delayed until 2022.
The game was set to mark the series’ debut on PS5, having been revealed at last year’s PlayStation event, and was expected to arrive some time between February and June this year after a Canadian advertisement for the game read: “Release scheduled for the first half of 2021."
In a recent interview with GQ, though, Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan was asked whether Gran Turismo 7 was still set for a 2021 release, when a PR representative stepped in. “GT7 has been impacted by Covid-related production challenges,” the representative said, “and therefore will shift from 2021 to 2022.”
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The spokesperson clarified that “critical aspects” of the game’s development have been slowed in recent months given the “dynamic and changing situation” brought about by the global pandemic, though neither Ryan nor the Sony representative gave specifics as to how far along production of the PlayStation-exclusive has come.
Sony has confirmed that it will share more specifics on Gran Turismo 7’s new release date when available.
Next-gen racing
The news will come as a frustrating blow to fans excited to get behind the wheel of the first racing simulator to hit next-gen consoles.
In what will mark the first entry in the series since Gran Turismo Sport in 2017 (which, incidentally, is supported PlayStation VR), Sony has promised Gran Turismo 7 will take full advantage of the PS5’s exclusive features.
That means players can expect the upcoming racing sim to utilize haptic feedback and adaptive triggers on the DualSense controller, a super-fast SSD, 3D audio, and, we expect, the ray tracing and 4K / 60fps capabilities of next-gen hardware. Details on exactly how Gran Turismo 7 will do this remain scarce, but the announcement trailer’s warning to “Get ready for next gen” sounds promising, at least.
It’s also worth noting that Gran Turismo 7 isn’t the first major title to be pushed back due to pandemic-related delays. Warner Bros. has rescheduled the release of its open-world Harry Potter RPG, Hogwarts Legacy, to 2022, while Amazon’s new MMO, New World, has also been delayed.
It looks like movies aren’t the only things being affected by the virus, after all.
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