What does the future of Gran Turismo look like?

After years of waiting, the most highly-anticipated video game of this console generation has launched today. Gran Turismo 7 is nothing short of brilliant and we explain exactly why in our full review of the game over on Racinggames.gg. Today though, we're going to focus on the future of GT beyond even GT7's life cycle.

Gran Turismo has always pushed the boundaries of what we thought is possible in a racing simulator, but where can the series go from here? Well, there's been more than a few hints as to what will be in store for us.

The future of AI

In the months leading up to the release of Gran Turismo 7 there have been a lot of big reveals. The biggest by far though, has been the confirmation of a new Artificial Intelligence that has been developed. Polyphony and Sony AI have created Sophy, an AI that is faster than even the quickest GT esports drivers.

We've done a deep dive into why exactly Sophy will revolutionise racing games in the future, but we'll summarise the key points here.

It's relatively easy to create an AI that is quicker than a human player at racing around a racetrack. However, it's incredible difficult to make one that does so while racing like a real person. Sophy achieves this, and it does so having learned from thousands of simulations.

Using a training algorithm, Sophy knows the rules of racing in the same way a real racer would. Car control, racing tactics, and racing etiquette were the three areas identified for Sophy to focus on and it succeeds with flying colours.

While Sophy won't be in GT7 for launch, it could be introduced further down the line. However, looking forward, after enough testing and development, Sophy will become GT's AI. There is simply nothing that comes close to how realistic Sophy is out there and its implementation into GT would give the series a massive advantage over its competitors.

An AI that is so realistic that you won't be able to tell the difference between it and a human player is no longer a pipe dream, it could be a reality within a few years.

Virtual reality

While there are a number of different Virtual Reality headsets out there, we'll be focusing on the PSVR 2 here. The PlayStation Virtual Reality Headset 2 will revolutionise Virtual Reality gaming when it's released later this year or early next year.

The PSVR 2 is said to have OLED displays with framerates of up to 120hz and a 110-degree field of view. There will be a huge 2000 x 2040 resolution per eye, which is a marked improvement on the original PSVR headset. This comes in the form of two separate displays, as opposed to one larger 4000 x 4080 panel.

While it's not for everybody, Virtual Reality is the most immersive options when it comes to gaming. While esports rigs are significantly cheaper than real-life racing, VR headsets are even cheaper, as you can step into the cockpit of a racing car for a few hundred pounds.

When it comes to the visuals of the game, thanks to ray tracing, still images or studio shots of cars will soon become almost photo realistic. GT7 won't be far off, but Gran Turismo 8 will be almost indistinguishable from reality.

Speaking of esports, GT will continue to lead the way in this regard too...

GT esports

Esports is huge, with sim racing being one of its most popular outlets. Whether it be the V10 R-League or the F1 Esports Pro Series, online racing is watched by millions around the world. Just like the real-life drivers, we watch in awe as these sportspeople do things we didn't even know was possible behind the wheel.

These skills are very transferable as well, as esports racers have secured real-world drives in high-level motorsport such as Formula 2. Conversely, drivers such as George Russell have proved unbelievably quick behind a wheel and pedal rig.

Like the racing simulator itself, Gran Turismo was the genesis of modern eracing. All the way back in 2008, the GT Academy was created to nurture young racing talent through the use of the Gran Turismo games. For eight years, gamers raced against each other to prove they were the best.

Drivers such as Jann Mardenborough, Lucas Ordonez and Nicolas Hammann have all made the jump up to race in major series after graduating from the academy. While the Academy folded in 2016, its legacy continues with the Nations Cup, which features the quickest GT racers from around the world.

With the jump up in technology for GT7, and a bigger emphasis on social activities, we could see a new GT Academy formed. The PSVR 2 could mean that racers won't need any racing rig to be up there with quickest in the business.

GT Horizon

Finally, we end with something that may seem a long way off, but when you think about it, it could happen. We've said that Gran Turismo 7 is the best racing simulator of this console generation so far, and the best on the PS5. The reason for this is partly because Forza Horizon 5 is neither on PlayStation, nor is a racing sim.

Horizon is a sub-series of games that spawned from Forza Motorsport, but is markedly different to the main series. Horizon is a racing sandbox, a free-roaming driving game with an emphasis on racing, drifting, exploring and interacting with friends online. It's also considered to be made up of some of the best racing games of all-time too.

There is nothing on PlayStation like this and we believe that a GT Horizon is something that needs to happen. Polyphony have the licences, experience and support of PlayStation behind them, they'd be fools not to exploit this gap in the market. Plus, Japan is a setting Horizon players have been wanting for years, and Japan is Polyphony and GT's homeland.

Gran Turismo 7 has marketed itself as being "More than a race" and something more arcade-orientated would back this statement up. If this did happen, it would likely happen years down the line, but before GT8 would launch.