Gran Turismo 8 is Already in Development, Kazunori Yamauchi COnfirms

Kazunori Yamauchi also shares new details about GT7's PSVR 2 update.

Gran Turismo 7 is less than a year old, but work on Gran Turismo 8 has already begun according to Polyphony Digital CEO Kazunori Yamauchi. The question is, will it arrive late in the PlayStation 5's lifecycle or release for the PlayStation 6?

Kazunori Yamauchi confirms Gran Turismo 8 has started development

In an interview with Japanese media website Game Watch, Yamauchi is asked if there is anything he wants to achieve in a Gran Turismo game that’s not possible on current hardware.

In response, he suggested that work on the next Gran Turismo game has begun but didn't provide any specific details.

“Actually, there is a theme,” he said. “I'm starting to run towards the next one, but I can't tell you yet. It's a pity that I can't talk much.”

It’s not surprising that Gran Turismo 8 has seemingly already started development. Since AAA games take so long to produce, developers often plan sequels before the last game is released. It is, however, the first time Yamauchi has acknowledged the next Gran Turismo game is in development.

Gran Turismo 8 likely won't release for several years towards the end of the PS5’s lifecycle. At that point, it will almost certainly be a PS5 exclusive. It may not even arrive until the inevitable PlayStation 6 console.

Historically, every PlayStation generation has had two mainline Gran Turismo games, with the second released later in the console’s lifecycle pushing the hardware to the limit.

Yamauchi's comments about the next game having a theme suggest it could be another spin-off in the vein of Gran Turismo Sport rather than a mainline sequel.

This also puts Polyphony’s live-service plans for GT7 into question. With resources split across GT7 and GT8, GT7 updates might be less frequent this year.

In a recent interview, Yamauchi said GT7 updates won’t always be monthly, and the lack of a January update confirmed this. But with the next Gran Turismo game likely several years away, we don't expect Polyphony to stop supporting GT7 anytime soon.

Racing games will “enter a new era” on PSVR 2

The interview also discusses Gran Turismo 7’s PSVR 2 update arriving later this month. From what we've seen in gameplay videos, GT7 will deliver a mesmerising VR racing experience.

Yamauchi believes PSVR 2 will usher in a “new era” of racing games as “the driving experience and racing experience itself can now be done as much as the real thing.”

A new VR Showroom mode will let players examine GT7’s meticulously detailed car models up close. While you hear the engine start-up when entering VR Showroom, Yamauchi confirmed you can’t manually start and rev the engine.

Yamauchi says he “really wanted to start the engine” but he “can't say for sure” if this option will be added in an update. “I am aware of it as an issue, but I don't know if I will do it for all 450 or more cars in the future,” he says.

GT7 won’t support the new PS VR2 Sense controller as Yamauchi believes a PSVR 2 and steering wheel “gives you the exact same experience as driving a car.”

According to Yamauchi, GT7 was built for PSVR 2 from the beginning. He also believes that the improved image quality will reduce the chances of players experiencing sickness when playing GT7 on PSVR 2.

“I think there is an image of ‘VR = drunk’, but I would like to tell you that ‘if you make it properly’ it will not happen. I'd like you to experience it, saying, ‘Now, VR can do this,’” he says.

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