It’s official: Gran Turismo 7 is getting PSVR 2 support when the headset launches next month.
Sony announced at its CES 2023 press conference that the PS5’s first racing sim will receive VR support when PSVR 2 launches on February 22nd. Best of all, the update is handled similarly to a drop in recurring game content, being added to the game at no additional cost.
The announcement, made by Jim Ryan, president of Sony Interactive Entertainment, was accompanied by a short clip of Gran Turismo 7 running on PSVR 2. The game appears to run smoothly, matching the headphone panel’s 90-120Hz refresh rate.
However, it’s unclear what graphical compromises developer Polyphony Digital will make to meet PSVR 2’s 2000 x 2040 (per eye) panel resolution. But we expect the game to have an overall visual fidelity to maintain smooth performance. Hopefully, not much.
Yellow flag warning
I’m equally excited and nervous about PSVR 2 support in Gran Turismo 7. I’m glad it’s a free upgrade and has the potential to be a remarkably immersive racing experience.
On the flip side, racing is very challenging in VR. The turns, scrambles, and repetitive camera movements make the VR gameplay practically impenetrable to those who easily suffer from motion sickness. And God help you if you misjudged an angle and deviated from its path.
But issues with my own intrigue aside, I’m mostly nervous about how much content will be VR-ready in Gran Turismo 7. The series has precedent when it comes to VR, with Gran Turismo Sport offering a mode for a PSVR native headset.
It wasn’t cool. GT Sport’s VR mode seemed like a proof of concept, offering a handful of tracks and cars to compete against AI opponents. A frosty “Yeah, maybe we can do that.”
I’d like GT7 to support VR to cover most aspects of the game. The bulk of the single player content must be accounted for, including the cafe and the most popular book list race objectives. Access to an online sports mode in VR would also be a plus, perhaps even an overhauled gallery to allow PSVR 2 players to get up close and personal with their favorite engines.
There is a lot of potential here to support PSVR 2 in Gran Turismo 7 to instantly make it one of the best VR games on the market. So we hope Polyphony decides to go the extra mile to create an experience that isn’t a simple idea.