Next March can't come soon enough, as we'll finally get Gran Turismo on next-gen. Gran Turismo 7 is set to launch on both PlayStation 4 and 5 next year. This makes it the first in the series' history to be released on more than one console.
That got us thinking, will crossplay be enabled for Gran Turismo 7? And what would it mean for the series if it were? We've got everything you need to know right here!
What is crossplay?
Crossplay, or cross-platform play, is the ability to play online with players on a different console. For example, if you're playing Forza Horizon on Xbox One and your friend is playing on Series X, that previously meant that you couldn't race against each other.
However, thanks to crossplay, those barriers are knocked down and you can now race against each other.
Crossplay is becoming more and more commonplace in new games. We're getting close to the point where crossplay will be an industry standard for racing games. Crossplay is popular because it expands the potential online player base of a game, and it could be huge for GT7.
Why crossplay could be huge for GT7
The PlayStation 5 is, to this point in its life cycle, the fastest-selling console in Sony's history. The PS5 topped 10 million units sold by the end of July. It's now estimated to have sold upwards of 12 million and will only further increase as the system becomes more readily available.
However, despite this, the number of PS5 units sold compared to its predecessor is significantly smaller. The PS4 was released back in 2013, and as such, has had a lot longer time to become popular. It's also a lot cheaper, which means more casual gamers are more likely to own it. There are over 115 million PS4's out there, which is over ten times the official sales figures for the PS5.
Those figures are likely why Polyphony changed their tune when it came to their strategy for the release of GT7. GT7 was initially rumoured to be a launch title for the PS5, before being pushed back multiple times. Eventually, GT7 was confirmed as a game for both the PS4 and 5 systems, the first time in GT history.
It's a simple numbers game for Polyphony. The market for PS4 games is currently tenfold that of PS5 and without that, sales would be a fraction of what they'd be if GT7 was a PS5 exclusive. This also means that online lobbies will be more full and that the GT community will be a much richer one.
Will GT7 have crossplay?
While we haven't seen any gameplay for GT7 outside of the trailers, we have learned a lot about the upcoming game. Interviews have been our main source of information, so have we learned anything about crossplay?
Polyphony CEO Kazunori Yamauchi took part in an interview a few months ago and went into detail about a number of aspects regarding GT7. This included crossplay, where Yamauchi confirmed that it will be enabled in-game. This means that gamers on both PS4 and PS5 will be able to race against each other without any barriers being in place.
In terms of content, that also means that all of the features present in the PS5 version will be available on PS4 too. This encompasses all of the circuits and cars that were available in GT Sport, as well as all of the features present in the game's main menu.
This really shows that GT7 will be an excellent experience for gamers on both next and current-generation consoles. The only real difference will be the system you're playing on, the game itself will be almost identical.
Latest trailer
If you still haven't seen the latest GT7 trailer, we've linked it below for you. This is the trailer that was shown in the 2021 PlayStation Showcase:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tBUsXIkG1A&t=117s&ab_channel=PlayStation
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