Gran Turismo 7's launch is less than 5 months away and we can't wait to play it! The next instalment in the Real Driving Simulator series will be released next year on both the PlayStation 5 and 4. Something that hasn't been talked about much though, is GT7's online multiplayer.
We don't know what is in store for us regarding multiplayer on GT7 yet. So, will it be available to all those who buy the game?
Pay to play (online)
The days of online multiplayer gaming on PlayStation being free are sadly over. You have to subscribe to PS+ to play against your friends now. Depending on how long you want to subscribe for, PS+ can be up to £7 per month. In fairness, you do get a lot with that, as there are free games to download every month.
When compared to the £60 price tag that the standard GT7 will likely have on PS5 as well, this is not a bad deal at all. PS+ goes across PS5 and PS4 as well, so you won't have to pay a different nor additional price to play on PS4.
Single player is free!
The PS+ membership only applies to the online multiplayer modes in games. Offline multiplayer (split-screen) isn't included in this, so you're free to play that if GT7 has it enabled.
Other modes like the campaign, GT World and Scapes will be free-to-play. This is of course only if you have a copy of GT7.
What else is free?
We've recently analysed the new home menu that we've seen in GT7 trailers. There are a lot on here, fifteen in total, but we're pretty sure we've figured almost all of them out. While multiplayer won't be available for those without PS+ membership, you can play all of the single-player modes like we said before.
What also could be on offer is the live coverage of the GT esports championships. There is an option in the top-right to watch "GT Sport Live" and we're pretty sure this will be available to all GT7 players. This will also be able to show you what you're missing out on as well if you choose to focus only on the offline game modes.
Other alternatives
Going over to Xbox and Forza Motorsport won't help you in this regard, as Xbox charges you to go on Xbox Live. The only alternative is to go back to the PlayStation 3 days, as back then, PSN was free to all to use.
Both Gran Turismo 5 and 6 were released for the PS3 and both games have their servers still online. They won't have many gamers playing on them these days though, so you'd be much better off on PS4 or PS5 with GT7.