Gran Turismo 7 has been delayed to 2022, Sony confirms

Gran Turismo 7 has been delayed to 2022, Sony has confirmed.

SIE CEO Jim Ryan confirmed the news in an interview with GQ, claiming that the slip was due to disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

“GT7 has been impacted by Covid-related production challenges and therefore will shift from 2021 to 2022,” he said.

“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 first suggested GT7 could see a delay in December, when it removed a reference to a “first half 2021” release date for the racer from a PS5 marketing video.

The delay is perhaps unsurprising considering Polyphony Digital’s reputation for protracted development cycles, and PS5’s already-packed first-party 2021 schedule, which includes timed console exclusives Deathloop, Ghostwire: Tokyo and Kena: Bridge of Spirits.

Ryan told GQ he was feeling “pretty good” about Sony’s own 2021 releases Returnal, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart and Horizon Forbidden West, but suggested the platform holder wouldn’t hesitate to delay them if it felt it had to.

“There are two approaches to this: you can either hold the date and put out the game irrespective of quality or you can ship it when it’s right,” he said. “We have always taken the latter approach. There have been some fairly high-profile instances of publishers trying the former approach.

“It never works at the best of times. But I think in this world, where creative people are working remotely, you’ve just got to respect the fact that that development needs to take what it needs to take and to get the games right.”

Earlier this month Gran Turismo 7 head Kazunori Yamauchi said fans should expect a “full” experience from the PS5 racer, similar to earlier games in the series.

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The PlayStation racing series’ most recent instalment, PS4’s GT Sport, deviated from past games by cutting the vast car collections of earlier entries and placing emphasis on competitive online driving and eSports.

However, speaking via a new interview with Japanese publication Octane, Yamauchi said players should expect a more traditional experience from the upcoming PS5 instalment, in addition to the features introduced with Sport.

“In Gran Turismo 7, while inheriting elements such as the [FIA] championships that were realized in Sport, we are going to go back to the full-volume of Gran Turismo 1 and 4, and providing the best Gran Turismo experience today. So for those who know the old Gran Turismo, I think it will feel a bit nostalgic.”