Gran Turismo Sport launches October 17 on PlayStation 4 (October 18 in Europe and Australia), President of Polyphony Digital and creator of the Gran Turismo franchise Kazunori Yamauchi announced on the PlayStation Blog.
The release date comes on the heels of a lengthy closed beta period, which began in March and wrapped up earlier this week.
It has been almost four years since Gran Turismo 6 launched for PlayStation 3 and fans have been clamoring for the franchise’s first foray on the PlayStation 4 ever since GT Sport was revealed in 2015 at Paris Games Week. GT Sport was originally slated for release in 2016, but Polyphony pushed it back to get the game just right.
Polyphony has not been shy about expressing its ambitious expectations for the latest entry in Sony’s flagship racing series. In the blog post, Yamuachi said, “We’ve strived to create something that delivers an unprecedented experience in terms of the graphics, sound, and physics simulation; an experience that can only be enjoyed on PlayStation.”
When GT Sport launches, fans can expect a career mode, arcade mode, online and offline multiplayer, robust customization tools, and the eponymous sport mode.
Sport mode, the new addition to the long-running racing sim, is Polyphony’s attempt at balancing the playing field. While traditional online matches can often produce lopsided races, sport mode lets players complete task-oriented objectives in order to improve their set of skills. Using a “sportsmanship point system,” GT Sport weighs player tendencies and skills and then matches them up with similar-mannered and skilled players to produce meaningful, fair competition.
Alongside the standard edition of the game, GT Sport will launch with two special editions. The Gran Turismo Sport Limited Edition will retail for $70 and includes: Eight additional cars, $1 million in-game credit, 30 themed avatars, a Livery sticker pack, a chrome racing helmet for your online driver profile, and a steel book case. The Gran Turismo Sport Digital Deluxe Edition goes for $80 and comes with: 12 additional cars, $2 million in-game credit, a Livery sticker pack, 60 themed avatars, and the chrome racing helmet for your driver profile.
While our time with the beta gave us a good idea of what to expect (it’s more Gran Turismo), it only gave us a small helping of the total package. Polyphony promised to unveil more details as we get closer to the October 17 launch, including a complete list of tracks and cars.
