Gran Turismo 7: Dynamic Weather returns for GT7

Gran Turismo 7 really could be the best GT title we've ever seen. That's a bold statement, but developers Polyphony are doing and saying all the right things ahead of GT's debut on the PlayStation 5.

One of the features we're most looking forward to returning is dynamic weather. What is dynamic weather, though? And how will it impact our races in GT7? We've got everything you need to know right here!

A very welcome return

While Gran Turismo Sport is a good game, it left out a lot of features we took for granted in GT. One of which was dynamic weather, as the only weather type you could choose was dry. Polyphony attempted to dress this up using different times of the day and varying cloud cover, but it wasn't the same.

The only exception to this rule was the Red Bull Ring. At this Austrian track, you could choose to have rain on the track,. However, even this isn't "dynamic" weather, as it would never change from that intensity of rain.

GT Sport most likely left out dynamic weather so that Polyphony could focus on other improvements, such as the physics models of the cars. The issue as well was that it was too big of a change to the game engine to add in as a patch later down the line.

What weather will be available?

We haven't heard much at all regarding dynamic weather in GT7. As of the time of writing though, it's safe to assume that both rain and snow will return to racing in GT7. GT7 should also allow for the intensity of this precipitation to vary, just like real life.

Dynamic weather will add another element to the racing in GT, especially in endurance races. If you're in a high-end racing car on slick tyres, you'll need to pit for wet weather tyres when the heavens open. Around a longer circuit, this could cause disastrous consequences if you're caught out far from the pits.

This is all part of the challenge though, and we can't wait to play GT7 because of this.

Something to ponder about is how far will the dynamic weather go? While it would be very unrealistic to see snow at the Interlagos Circuit in Brazil, why not in a video game? This would be similar to F1 2021, where you can select heavy rain for places like Abu Dhabi and Bahrain which are always bone dry.

Something tells us that Polyphony won't allow these kinds of scenarios in GT7. However, they've surprised us plenty so far with GT7, so they could do again.

Why racing in inclement conditions is fun

Dynamic weather allows for the possibility for adverse weather like rain to add another element to your racing. Purely on the driving side, wet weather is fun to race in because it's more challenging. Braking zones get longer, traction events are tougher to manage and the spray from other cars can be almost blinding like fog.

The other side of why driving in the rain is more fun than the dry is the tyre choice. This is particularly true if you're in a top-end sports car and using slick tyres. Slicks are perfect for dry conditions, as they allow for the largest possible contact patch with the road to give maximum grip.

However, in the rain, the tyres aquaplane, meaning that they float above the ground and are therefore useless. So, you'd need to stick wet weather tyres on, but doing so costs precious time in the pits. Will this weather stick around, or will it be a quick shower? In truth, you never know, as the weather forecasts are never 100% accurate.

Something else that would make the racing even more interesting is if sections of the track are wetter than others. For example, at Spa, you could see puddles at La Source, while it's dry at the top of the hill at Les Combes. Whether this will be in GT7 isn't certain, but it's definitely possible.