- 1
- United Kingdom
- TCR_TheJoker
I am writing this post to share some honest feedback on the current direction of Gran Turismo 7 and where the studio’s priorities could better align with what keeps the player base engaged for the long haul.
Gran Turismo has always been more than just a game, but right now there is a clear disconnect between what the studio prioritizes and what keeps the core player base active. I put together a few thoughts on how Polyphony Digital could leverage the tools and the community already at their disposal to solve this.
Car List Selection
Gran Turismo has always celebrated car culture, but at its core, it is a racing game. While unique novelty vehicles like the Willys Jeep or the Renault Twingo have historical interest, every slot taken by a non-racing everyday car is a slot missed for high-demand race cars, modern GT3/GT4 updates, or fan-favorite sports cars. Shifting the focus back toward competitive and track-oriented machinery would serve the active player base much better.
Legacy Courses and Free DLC Distribution
The franchise sits on a massive library of legendary fictional tracks that defined earlier games. Bringing these original circuits into GT7 should be a top priority. While offering track packs as paid DLC is a potential revenue model, it risks fracturing the player base. If a Daily Race or online lobby features a track a player does not own, they are locked out of participating. Making new and legacy tracks free updates for everyone ensures the online ecosystem stays healthy and populated.
Return of the Track Builder
Polyphony does not need to bear the burden of recreating every historic track alone. Bringing back a robust Track Builder would unlock the potential of the community. Talented creators could easily recreate legacy layouts like the original Grand Valley Speedway, taking the workload off the developers while supplying the game with an endless stream of fresh content.
Custom Community Competitions
The current single-player campaign content is limited and quickly exhausted. Giving players a comprehensive Competition Builder to create, package, and share custom championship series with the community would drastically increase replayability. From a server perspective, saving race settings, restrictions, and event parameters takes up no more data than the thousands of custom liveries already hosted on the GT servers.
Direct Player Communication and In-Game Polls
The communication gap between the developers and the players remains a core issue. To avoid the abuse and toxicity of open forums or public channels, Polyphony could implement simple in-game polls. Asking the player base direct questions (e.g., "Which legacy track would you like to see remade next?" or "Would you prefer X feature over Y?") gives the team actionable data straight from the people playing the game every day.
Utilizing the Built-In Community Infrastructure
Polyphony does not need to build feedback channels from scratch because a dedicated, highly knowledgeable community already exists right here. Developers of other major franchises would kill for a passionate user base that voluntarily tests mechanics, debates balance, and organizes ideas. The very fact that players post here to refine, debate, and critique suggestions before they ever reach a wish list proves this community is an invaluable resource. Polyphony just needs to start using it.
Additional High-Priority Wishlist Items
I know there are probably many other items, I've just gone for what I consider to be the easy wins, thoughts welcomed.
Gran Turismo has always been more than just a game, but right now there is a clear disconnect between what the studio prioritizes and what keeps the core player base active. I put together a few thoughts on how Polyphony Digital could leverage the tools and the community already at their disposal to solve this.
Car List Selection
Gran Turismo has always celebrated car culture, but at its core, it is a racing game. While unique novelty vehicles like the Willys Jeep or the Renault Twingo have historical interest, every slot taken by a non-racing everyday car is a slot missed for high-demand race cars, modern GT3/GT4 updates, or fan-favorite sports cars. Shifting the focus back toward competitive and track-oriented machinery would serve the active player base much better.
Legacy Courses and Free DLC Distribution
The franchise sits on a massive library of legendary fictional tracks that defined earlier games. Bringing these original circuits into GT7 should be a top priority. While offering track packs as paid DLC is a potential revenue model, it risks fracturing the player base. If a Daily Race or online lobby features a track a player does not own, they are locked out of participating. Making new and legacy tracks free updates for everyone ensures the online ecosystem stays healthy and populated.
Return of the Track Builder
Polyphony does not need to bear the burden of recreating every historic track alone. Bringing back a robust Track Builder would unlock the potential of the community. Talented creators could easily recreate legacy layouts like the original Grand Valley Speedway, taking the workload off the developers while supplying the game with an endless stream of fresh content.
Custom Community Competitions
The current single-player campaign content is limited and quickly exhausted. Giving players a comprehensive Competition Builder to create, package, and share custom championship series with the community would drastically increase replayability. From a server perspective, saving race settings, restrictions, and event parameters takes up no more data than the thousands of custom liveries already hosted on the GT servers.
Direct Player Communication and In-Game Polls
The communication gap between the developers and the players remains a core issue. To avoid the abuse and toxicity of open forums or public channels, Polyphony could implement simple in-game polls. Asking the player base direct questions (e.g., "Which legacy track would you like to see remade next?" or "Would you prefer X feature over Y?") gives the team actionable data straight from the people playing the game every day.
Utilizing the Built-In Community Infrastructure
Polyphony does not need to build feedback channels from scratch because a dedicated, highly knowledgeable community already exists right here. Developers of other major franchises would kill for a passionate user base that voluntarily tests mechanics, debates balance, and organizes ideas. The very fact that players post here to refine, debate, and critique suggestions before they ever reach a wish list proves this community is an invaluable resource. Polyphony just needs to start using it.
Additional High-Priority Wishlist Items
- Broader GT Sophy Integration: Expand GT Sophy across all custom races and offline events rather than restricting it to limited modes.
- Balanced Race Payouts: Standardize credit payouts across more tracks so players are not forced to grind the exact same three or four events to afford high-end Legend Cars.
- Multiplayer Quality of Life: Add lobby presets, improved server browser filtering, and host migration so lobbies do not close when the creator leaves.
I know there are probably many other items, I've just gone for what I consider to be the easy wins, thoughts welcomed.
