Gran Turismo Sport

A Competitive Vision

Gran Turismo Sport was conceived as a focused entry in the series, pivoting towards serious online competition. It was developed with the support of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, the real-world motorsport governing body, which certified the game's official championships. This partnership gave the in-game competitions a notable legitimacy in the esports world. Series creator Kazunori Yamauchi positioned the game as a main entry, built on the physics engine from Gran Turismo 6 but leveraging the enhanced power of the PlayStation 4.

The game launched with a smaller initial roster of 168 cars and 29 tracks compared to its immediate predecessors, a design choice that drew criticism from some reviewers. However, Polyphony Digital committed to a long-term free update plan, eventually more than doubling the content to 338 cars and 82 track configurations by July 2021. These updates also added a traditional single-player campaign mode, addressing early feedback about the game's online-centric approach. This post-launch support was not reflected in many initial reviews.

The Sport Mode Ecosystem

The core competitive experience was Sport Mode, featuring three daily races that reset every week. A key innovation was its dual-rating system. Every player received a Driver Rating based on overall skill and a Sportsmanship Rating based on on-track behavior, such as avoiding collisions and obeying flags. The system aimed to match players of similar skill and etiquette, with the highest generally available ratings being A+ for Driver Rating and S for Sportsmanship Rating. A special S Driver Rating was reserved for the global top 200 players. A player's Driver Rating could not exceed their Sportsmanship Rating, incentivizing clean driving.

To ensure fair competition, cars within each race category were governed by a balance of performance system. This automatically adjusted a car's weight and power to create a level playing field, emphasizing driver skill over vehicle selection. Unlike Gran Turismo 5 and 6, the game did not feature a dynamic weather system or day-night cycle during races, though players could set the time of day beforehand.

The FIA-Certified Championships

Gran Turismo Sport hosted two major annual championships operated in conjunction with the FIA. The Nations Cup saw players represent their home countries, while the Manufacturers Cup had drivers racing for selected automotive brands. The FIA managed these series directly as they would a real-world race series, and winners were honored at the federation's annual prize-giving ceremony in Paris, a first for a video game competition.

The inaugural 2018 season crowned its champions at a World Finals event in Monaco. Igor Fraga of Brazil, competing as IOF_RACING17, won the Nations Cup. Mikail Hizal of Germany and Cody Nikola Latkovski of Australia placed second and third. The Manufacturers Cup was won by Lexus, represented by drivers Tyrell Meadows (USA), Vincent Rigaud (France), and Kanata Kawakami (Japan). Toyota and Aston Martin finished second and third. Live streams of these finals attracted over 3 million viewers across multiple platforms, demonstrating the series' early reach.

Gameplay Structure and Car Classification

Beyond its online focus, Gran Turismo Sport introduced a new, detailed car category system. Vehicles were sorted into seven distinct groups. Gr.1 covered LMP and Group C prototypes. Gr.2 included silhouette cars like Super GT GT500 machines. Gr.3 was for GT3, GTE, and GT1 cars. Gr.4 corresponded to GT4 race cars. Gr.B was for historic Group B rally cars. The N Class encompassed all road cars, from a Mazda Roadster to a Bugatti Veyron, and was subdivided into ten categories based on power output, such as N400 or N500. Gr.X was a catch-all for concept cars, Vision Gran Turismo models, electric vehicles, and safety cars.

The game was notable for finally including Porsche vehicles after the expiration of Electronic Arts' exclusive license. It also featured limited PlayStation VR support, though this was confined to a dedicated VR Tour mode and later time trials, not full online races. Professional Formula One driver Kamui Kobayashi provided technical assistance during development, and a Lewis Hamilton Time Trial Challenge DLC was released in November 2019.

Development, Launch, and Commercial Performance

Announced at Paris Games Week in 2015, Gran Turismo Sport was delayed from a planned 2016 release to 2017 for further polishing. A cancelled early beta was intended to prevent delays. A subsequent closed beta ran in March 2017, followed by an open beta demo in October 2017 that allowed limited progress carry-over and attracted over a million players. The demo featured arcade, campaign, and sport modes, plus the livery editor and Scapes photo mode, but not VR support.

Upon release in October 2017, it topped physical sales charts in several regions. In the UK, it sold nearly three times as many physical copies as Forza Motorsport 7 in its first week. In Japan, it sold 150,286 physical copies in its first week, also reaching number one. The game reached number one on the Japanese download charts, number two in Europe, and number five in the United States. By May 2018, it had sold 3.3 million copies, growing to an estimated 8 million by June 2019 and ultimately 12.977 million lifetime, making it the second best-selling title in the franchise.

Critical Reception and Legacy

Critical reception was generally favorable. Reviewers widely praised the game's visual fidelity, car handling, and the well-structured Sport Mode. IGN described the online environment as a sturdy racing venue where the Sportsmanship Rating system rewarded clean driving. Eurogamer called it possibly the most focused and enjoyable game from Polyphony Digital since Gran Turismo 3, praising its improved sound design and livery editor.

Common criticisms at launch focused on the reduced car and track count compared to rivals like Forza Motorsport 7 and Project Cars 2, and the heavy reliance on an online connection for saving progress. Some reviewers, like those at Electronic Gaming Monthly, found the always-online requirement severely limited offline play. The subsequent addition of a substantial single-player mode via free updates addressed some of these concerns. The game placed second in Game Informer's Reader's Choice Best Racing Game of 2017 award.

The game's online services and esports ecosystem operated for over six years before being permanently discontinued on January 31, 2024. All downloadable content was delisted from the PlayStation Store on December 1, 2023, and the game itself was removed from the store on January 1, 2024. Offline modes remain playable without an internet connection. Gran Turismo Sport was succeeded by Gran Turismo 7, released in March 2022.