BMW BMW VGT

Dive into Gran Turismo Sport with our comprehensive guide. Explore gameplay, modes, FIA championships, and more for the ultimate racing experience.

Gran Turismo Sport is a racing video game developed by Polyphony Digital and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was announced during the 2015 Paris Games Week and is the thirteenth game overall in the Gran Turismo series and the first game to be released for the PlayStation 4. It was launched worldwide on October 17th, 2017. A notable aspect being that it was supported by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). As such, they sanctioned the multiplayer events in-game. It can also be played on the PlayStation 5 by way of backwards compatibility. Its online services ended on January 31, 2024, with all DLCs delisted on December 1, 2023.

Gran Turismo Sport includes three prominent game modes: "Sport Mode" , "Arcade Mode" ,and "Campaign Mode". Online racing was heavily featured in the game. It has been described as being different from the "Prologue" titles released in the past and features more content. Unlike Gran Turismo 5 and Gran Turismo 6, the game does not feature a dynamic weather system and day-night cycle. However, players still have the option to modify the race's time of day before entering a race. For the first time in the series, the game featured Porsche vehicles, after Electronic Arts had lost their exclusive licensing rights to the Porsche brand (previous Gran Turismo games included RUF as a substitute).

Gran Turismo Sport was originally announced to be fully compatible with Sony's virtual reality headset, PlayStation VR. The experience while playing was described by series creator Kazunori Yamauchi as "very good and very natural". However, it was announced later that VR support would be limited to special VR Tour, VR One-on-One, and VR Time Attack modes.

Polyphony Digital and TAG Heuer had announced a partnership for the game. TAG Heuer serves as the timekeeper and watch brand for Gran Turismo Sport, where its "Live Timing Technology" is utilized to measure all in-game time. Additionally, TAG Heuer is integrated into the "museum" section of Gran Turismo Sport, showcasing the history of the Swiss watch maker. The partnership expired in early 2020, with TAG Heuer branding and the museum being removed from most areas of the game, except for Livery Editor decals and trackside sponsorships.

With support and certification of the FIA, the central aspect of the game was the FIA-Certified Gran Turismo Championships (later becoming the Gran Turismo World Series), consisting of two championships held simultaneously throughout the year: the Nations Cup, where players represent their country, and the Manufacturers Series, where players represent their favorite car manufacturer. The FIA managed the series directly as they would with any of their other race series. The winners of the championships were honored at the FIA's annual prize-giving ceremony in Paris, France.

Both championships featured "live" components similar to the regional finals held in GT Academy. Dubbed as the Gran Turismo World Tour, they were streamed in-game on the Gran Turismo LIVE feature as well on Gran Turismo's YouTube channel and PlayStation's Twitch channel. Organized online events were held on a regular basis within the game's Sport Mode, which also featured daily online races that were not part of any official FIA championships, as well as third-party championships such as the Toyota Gazoo Racing GT Cup (formerly the GR Supra GT Cup). In 2020 and 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the live World Tour events were replaced with online special events; these races are played in advance with competitors being forbidden from disclosing the outcome of the race until it has been aired, and then aired on a tape delay basis. The championship events were held from 2018 to 2021, with a transitional "Road to GT7 Series" online championship held in February 2022 serving as a farewell event before the release of the sequel.