Sony Computer Entertainment and Polyphony Digital announced Gran Turismo Sport for PlayStation 4 during Sony’s Paris Games Week press conference. A beta test will begin in spring 2016 and the full game is due out later that year.
“As you’d expect with the move to PS4, the graphics, physics engine and audio are all going to improve dramatically and it’s certain to be the most realistic driving simulator of all the GT series to date,” series creator Kazunori Yamauchi said. “But our ambition for the first Gran Turismo on PS4 is much greater than that. We wanted to initiate much bigger change to the way people play driving games. And that’s the vision to the rebirth of motor sports.
“Within GT Sport there is going to be two flagship FIA championships running simultaneously throughout the year. One is the nation’s cup in which a player will race represnting his or her home country. The other is the manufacturer’s fan cup in which a player will represent his or her favorite car manufacturer in the race series. What’s most exciting for me is that the series champions will be awarded their prize alongside real motorsports champions at the FIA World Final & FIA Ceremony hosted once a year around Christmas time. I think this is oging to be a real lnadmark in video game history.
“The people of the FIA not only have a history of over 100 years in real life motorsports they also have a curiosity for new technologies and new challenges just like we do. So I think you could say that in this partnership with the FIA who have this support of motorsports, we’re now working on building the next 100 years of motorsports together.
“And there’s special meaning in making this GT Sport announcement here in Paris tonight. It’s because this is a special place where the first motor race in the world actually took place. Back in 1894 at Port Mayu, that was the starting point for the first motor race in the world, and at the same time, Paris is the headquarters of the FIA.
“We’re of course planning to be compatible with PlayStation VR and through the testing we’ve done so far, it looks to be something very good that feels very natural. And I just wanted to add that Gran Turismo has continued to make history in the industry with projects like GT Academy and Vision GT and our intention is to continue this in GT Sport—to keep making history going forward.”
Watch the announcement trailer below.