With the end of July approaching, many are wondering: where is Gran Turismo 7 update 1.36?
Since launching last March, GT7’s monthly updates have added an assortment of new cars, GT Café Menus, and World Circuit races. Fans are used to these updates arriving at the end of the month like clockwork. But this month appears to be different.
With no updates from Kazunori Yamauchi or Polyphony Digital, it looks like there won’t be a Gran Turismo 7 July 2023 update. We have a few theories why there's no GT7 update this month.
Will there be a Gran Turismo 7 July 2023 update?
Series creator Kazunori Yamauchi usually teases cars coming in GT7 updates on Twitter. They are shown as silhouettes, inviting fans to identify them. After that, the cars are usually revealed in a flashy trailer the day before the update drops.
Most updates contain at least three new cars. Last month’s update added the Aston Martin Valkyrie and two rally legends: the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution III GSR '95 and Subaru Impreza Sedan WRX STi '04
Traditionally, GT7 content updates are released on the last Thursday of the month. However, it’s now the last Thursday of July and update 1.36 is nowhere to be seen.
Given that it’s nearly the end of the month and there’s been no communication from Kazunori Yamauchi or Polyphony, update 1.36 is unlikely to arrive in July. So when can we expect it?
Polyphony could be planning a bigger GT7 update
Although GT7 updates have arrived almost every month since launch, Yamauchi said in an interview last year they won’t always be monthly. But this hasn’t tempered player expectations.
Since GT7 launched 16 months ago, January 2023 is the only month Polyphony has skipped. As a result, players have come to expect monthly updates.
With no official word from Yamauchi or Polyphony, it’s not clear why GT7 is skipping an update this month. Polyphony's lack of communication is also frustrating.
It’s possible, however, that Polyphony is planning a more substantial update next month to coincide with the Gran Turismo movie.
A true story based on Jann Mardenborough’s extraordinary journey from gamer to professional racing driver after winning the 2011 GT Academy, Gran Turismo races into cinemas on 11 August.
With that in mind, it would make sense for update 1.36 to drop on Thursday 10 August to celebrate the film’s theatrical release. If not, we may have to wait until the end of August for the next GT7 content update.
Polyphony has, however, confirmed that the Toyota GR Corolla MORIZO Edition '22 is coming to GT7 on Monday 7 August after a server maintenance update.
The hot hatch will be available to test drive in practice mode on this date. This could be part of a separate update or one of several new cars coming in update 1.36.
What to expect in Gran Turismo update 1.36
After skipping January, GT7’s February 2023 update was the most comprehensive yet, with new cars, the return of Grand Valley Speedway, PSVR 2 support, and even a GT Sophy AI trial.
Update 1.36 might follow a similar pattern, skipping July in favour of a bigger update in August alongside the Gran Turismo movie.
We haven’t had any new tracks since February, so we’re hoping update 1.36 will add more classic circuits to race on. From Special Stage Route 5 to Autumn Ring, many legendary circuits from past Gran Turismo games are still missing in GT7.
It’s also possible that Sophy AI will arrive in update 1.36 after Sony’s advanced AI agent was announced last February. Revamping the AI will take up a lot of resources, so Polyphony could be spending extra time this month finetuning and preparing Sophy AI for update 1.36 next month.
Gran Turismo’s AI opponents are notoriously robotic, but Sophy AI is set to revolutionise racing AI. Compared to the current AI, Sophy AI drives like a human and can outrace the world's fastest Gran Turismo drivers.
A significant update like this will certainly be worth the extra wait.