Polyphony Digital has today announced that Gran Turismo Sport will be moved into end of life status on January 31 2024, bringing the game’s active status to an end after a little over six years on sale.
It’s an announcement we’ve been expecting for some considerable time, and has come much further into its existence — or, more importantly, the existence of its successor — than we were expecting.
Previous online-capable Gran Turismo titles have only been supported for six months after they were succeeded. Gran Turismo 5’s servers were closed in May 2014, half a year after Gran Turismo 6 was launched, while GT6 in turn lasted the same period after Sport’s launch when its servers were closed in March 2018.
The situation with Gran Turismo Sport is a little more complicated, as the game requires an online connection in order to save game progress. However it appears that Polyphony Digital will revert this requirement, allowing players to keep access to the “offline” game modes.
It’ll be a two-tiered shutdown, beginning in December 2023. Starting on December 1, PD will terminate distribution of any paid add-on items. That includes the Lewis Hamilton Time Trial challenge, the Scapes expansion pack, and all of the game’s individually buyable vehicles. However anything bought before this date will continue to be accessible.
Following that, at 0600 UTC on January 31 2024, the online services will be shut down. This will result in the loss of access to all of the game’s online multiplayer modes and features.
That will include not only the community, lobby, and Sport Mode features, but other items that require server access — including those PSN Trophies requiring online activities.
The Mileage Store will also close, and all custom liveries will be removed — resulting in any vehicles with a custom livery reverting to its standard colorway. Players can of course preserve these by sharing them to GT7 and saving the styles in that game.
However all vehicles and all world circuits will remain accessible, and it will remain possible to save gameplay progress to unlock cars and items in-game. That will assuage fears, particularly among those players keen on game history preservation, to continue playing Sport in perpetuity.
At a total lifetime of six years, three months, and two weeks, Gran Turismo Sport will become the GT game that enjoyed the longest lifetime support from Polyphony Digital — succeeding Gran Turismo 4.
2023-09-30 02:39:28
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