A lot can happen in a year, especially when viewed within the sphere of live service. At times, a year feels like it can go on forever, but upon looking back, several years pass within the blink of an eye. Such is the consideration of Gran Turismo 7, Polyphony Digital’s latest mainline title in its successful driving sim franchise. Even if three years feels like a drop compared to other games that received post-launch support, it’s still going strong, still delivering excellent content, and, perhaps most importantly, still the king of racing sims.
Not that it was an easy crown to attain, especially at the start. Launching in March 2022, a week after Elden Ring, it nevertheless had great success, with its launch month being the highest-grossing in franchise history. It even ranked second in sales charts for that month. Critical praise was also strong across the board, and Sony seemed poised for another first-party hit. That is, until a patch released shortly post-launch increased the amount of grinding required and made the microtransactions stick out all the more.
Granted, there were other issues – being always online to access the majority of content (which became problematic during a 30-hour-long server maintenance stint) and the lack of a proper Career Mode chief among them. But the grinding, for lack of a better, ground many players’ gears. Thankfully, Polyphony Digital addressed progression issues in the coming month, increasing rewards in later World Circuits and Online Races while adding new Endurance Race events and “high rewards” for the Circuit Experience.
Polyphony committed to new courses, cars, World Circuit events, Sport Time Trials, and much more at the time. What we didn’t expect is how extensive that support would be. While there were various adjustments, bug fixes, 64 songs for Music Replay, and the promised reward adjustments, the real content began to drop in June 2022. Three new cars – the Suzuki V6 Escudo Pikes Peak Special ’98, Suzuki Vision Gran Turismo (Gr.3 Version) and the legendary 1932 Ford Roadster – were added to the game alongside Watkins Glen International. At the time, it probably didn’t seem like much, especially after the controversies, but it kickstarted a near-monthly cadence of updates ongoing to this day.
Three more cars dropped in July 2022. The Nissan Skyline Super Silhouette Group 5 ’84, Maserati A6GCS/53 Spyder ’54, and Porsche 918 Spyder ’13 – three more big vehicles, each catering to different enthusiasts. The August 2022 update expanded the selection even more with the McLaren MP4/4 ’88 for Formula One enthusiasts, the Pontiac GTO ’69 for muscle car fans, the Porsche Cayman GT4 ’16, and even the luxurious De Tomaso Mangusta (Christian Dior).
The update also marked the first time new layouts were added to existing tracks, starting with Circuit de Barcelona- Catalunya, as players could choose between Rallycross, No Chicane (substituting the final corner for a speedier right turn), and the National Layout. In September 2022, even more new cars followed, including the prototype Volkswagen ID.R ’19, Nissan Silvia K’s Type S (S14) ’94, and the sleek Porsche Vision Gran Turismo Spyder.
The free car offerings slowly but surely began to ramp up in October with four new additions – the Maserati Merak SS ’80, Mazda Roadster NR-A (ND) ’22, and the Nissan Skyline 2000GT-R (KPGC110) ’73 and GT-R NISMO GT3 ’18. November only featured three new vehicles by comparison – including the BMW M2 Competition ‘18, Ford Sierra RS 500 Cosworth ‘87, and Nissan Silvia K’s Aero (S14) ‘96 – but it also added the Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta Race Circuit, the home of “Petit Le Mans.”
It also marked the arrival of one of the most requested features since launch – the ability to sell cars. Polyphony ended the year on a strong note with five more vehicles – the Ferrari Vision Gran Turismo, Alfa Romeo Giulia GTAm ’20, Bugatti Chiron ’16, Chevrolet Corvette C8 Stingray ’20 and Toyota Celica GT-FOUR Rally Car (ST205) ’95.
2023 marked the title’s first anniversary. However, a free update adding PlayStation VR2 support went live in February, supporting all modes, races and split-screen alongside a VR Showroom to check out all the cars up close. It also marked the arrival of GT Sophy, which debuted in Gran Turismo Sport but was never available for the wider player base. That changed with GT7’s limited-time event, “Race Together,” allowing players to race against the racing AI on four tracks. It would end later in March, but that wouldn’t be the last we saw of Sophy.
Outside of this, the February 2023 update saw the addition of the classic Grand Valley, notably its Highway 1 layout, and five new vehicles – the Honda RA272 ’65, the Italdesign Exeneo Vision Gran Turismo Street and Off-Road Mode, Citroen’s DS 21 Pallas ’70, and the Porsche 911 Carrera RS (901) ’73. While it didn’t release an update on the exact anniversary of the launch, Polyphony’s March 2023 update brought five new vehicles, 120 FPS support on PS5, and, best of all, two new Nurburgring layouts. April followed with four more cars, including the Dallara SF23 Toyota ’23 and Honda ’23 accompanied by the new Super Formula race type in World Circuits.
Three more vehicles arrived in May, including the Nissan GT-R NISMO (R32) ’90, alongside another long-promised feature – Engine Swap. Those at Collector Level 50 with GT Auto could now change the engines for select vehicles. The Tuning Shop received a new category called “Ultimate” which adds more rare parts, further expanding the customization and tuning.
June was a relatively more innocuous update but still significant, adding the Aston Martin Valkyrie ’21 and two rally cars – the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution III GSR ’95 and the Subaru Impreza Sedan WRX STi ’04. Four new events also went live across World Circuits, like Fisherman’s Ranch and Autopolis, while Music Rally saw six new additions to its roster. If that wasn’t enough, you could engage in new conversations with select characters in GT Cafe for specific vehicles, access a new “Fanatec” section in the Museum, and play with six new Engine Swaps.
July saw no updates as Polyphony focused on competitive events such as the Manufacturers Cup, the Porsche Esports Challenge USA, and the Toyota GAZOO Racing GT Cup. Things picked back up in August with the release of the Gran Turismo movie. While not the most critically acclaimed by a long shot, it allowed players to claim the GT-R Nismo GT3 ’18 and its film-exclusive livery until late September in-game. This was in addition to four more vehicles, including the first ambulance (the Toyota Ambulance Himedic ’21) and the Toyota GR Corolla MORIZO Edition ’22 (which didn’t require spending any credits if you took part in any round of the TGR Cup).
September was on the smaller side with only three new vehicles, while October saw a single fix for an application error in Daily Races and Championship races. However, that’s only because it was readying for a major drop in November. Say hello to Spec 2, which added a whopping seven new cars like the Dodge Charger R/T 426 Hemi ‘68, the Mercedes-Benz 190 E 2.5-16 Evolution II ‘91 and the Porsche 911 GT3 RS (992) ‘22.
Lake Louise served as the newest circuit, offering three layouts, each with icy roads requiring snow tires. Five new regular race events and two new expert race events were also introduced. Quality of life features included the Event Directory for bringing up available events (depending on your settings, of course) and the Dashboard to view every aspect of progression from the main menu.
The Weekly Challenge brought a new series of events to complete with special rewards while GT Sophy returned, this time permanently. You could now compete against it in Quick Race (formerly Arcade Race), complete 50 new expert challenges for the new Master License, engage in four-player split-screen play on PS5, and much more.
Given the update’s size, it made sense that December was bare. Polyphony did host some login campaigns with daily rewards and a special Car Ticket to thank fans for their support of Gran Turismo Sport, whose online services would end in January 2024.
Of course, the month saw the return of monthly updates, including three new vehicles – the Genesis X Gran Berlinetta Vision Gran Turismo Concept, BVLGARI Aluminum Vision Gran Turismo and Suzuki Jimny XC ’18, an all-terrain vehicle. The Jimny Cup was also available as a new event, and new Vision Gran Turismo Trophy races were playable on Tokyo Expressway and Autodromo Nazionale Monza.
Till June 2024 (which saw no update), Polyphony Digital added 14 new vehicles, including the ŠKODA Vision Gran Turismo, a Gran Turismo-exclusive vehicle and new World Circuit events. It’s also worth pointing out that GT Cafe, which served as a de facto Career mode as players collected vehicles and completed tasks while learning more about each manufacturer, also received updates.
On top of the base 39, there were 11 post “ending” Bonus Books that segued into World Circuit Events and would award vehicles or roulette tickets for random cars and parts alongside Credits. You could also participate in 40 Extra Books, which could be completed upon reaching the required Collector Level, and awarded vehicles and even more roulette tickets. Of course, it also expanded on Scapes with dozens of new locations for players to photograph their cars.
July 2024 introduced six new vehicles, including the Ferrari 430 Scuderia ‘07, Lamborghini Gallardo LP 560-4 ‘08, and Subaru Impreza Rally Car ‘98, alongside the classic Eiger Nordwand circuit. The physics model also saw a big update, resulting in improved tire response. Weight shifting in corners, tire heating and tire wear also became more realistic.
The next content update arrived in October, the largest gap to date, and added three new cars, five World Circuit Events, two additional tracks for GT Sophy, more new character conversations, and ten new Engine Swaps. However, November saw the arrival of PS5 Pro support, which added ray-traced reflections, 8K resolution support, improved VR Mode quality, and a new mode leveraging PSSR that offered a high frame rate with better image quality. Five new cars, three new World Circuit events, additional Engine Swaps, new wheels for three brands and additional brand decals were also made available.
Thus far, 2025 has seen the exceptional support continue with 14 new cars added up to May, more World Circuits, GT Cafe Menus, Scapes, and tracks to compete against GT Sophy. It’s been a long journey, and while it could stand to improve in some areas, Gran Turismo 7 is a much different beast from when it launched in terms of content and gameplay, and arguably the best modern racing sim. Even if it has a heavy legacy to live up to, we’re excited to see where Polyphony Digital takes it next.
Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.
