- 33
- Australia
As an A+ ranked driver with countless hours and years across multiple Gran Turismo titles, I’ve reached a troubling conclusion that I need to share.
I’ve been racing in Gran Turismo games for years, working my way up through the ranks to achieve A+ driver rating in both GT7 and Sport. I’ve competed at GT1 level of World Series, putting in thousands of hours perfecting my craft across multiple GT titles. This isn’t coming from a casual player frustrated with losing – this comes from someone who has lived and breathed this series since its inception.
Recently, I’ve begun to suspect that GT7 may be employing retention manipulation tactics during online races. These are common practice tactics that big game developers use and in my opinion deceptive. What I’m experiencing feels like deliberate performance handicapping designed to create artificially close racing, particularly when competing against slower-rated drivers. I’ll use this weeks deed forest as an example. I’m mid 1:26s as a qualifying time but because of my region and Rank there are not many players with this pace or Dr rank to compete with. In races it is somehow impossible to achieve writhing 0.800 of my qualification time despite driving the car extremely fast and pushing obviously at the correct time when tyres are as good as new and with low fuel.
Why I think this is accruing is because of what I stated previously. Here are my suspicions as to why.
The symptoms I’m noticing include:
• Cars not performing as they should in specific races
• Sudden, unexplainable loss of grip at crucial moments
• Performance inconsistencies that don’t align with car setup or driving conditions
• These issues seeming to occur more frequently when racing against lower-rated opponents
While I’m not entirely certain about the technical methods that could be used to slow down faster drivers, the pattern is becoming too consistent to ignore. Whether it’s through subtle physics manipulation, grip reduction, or other behind-the-scenes adjustments, something feels fundamentally wrong. If my suspicions are correct, the implications extend far beyond just frustrating individual races.
If the game is artificially manipulating race outcomes, then our Driver Rating (DR) system becomes meaningless. DR should reflect genuine driving skill and consistency, not the result of algorithmic interference designed to create “exciting” close racing.
This has serious consequences for World Series qualification. These events are supposed to represent the pinnacle of GT competition, where the fastest and most skilled drivers compete. If DR ratings are being artificially manipulated, then:
• Deserving drivers might be prevented from qualifying
• The competitive integrity of the entire World Series is compromised
• Players are being denied opportunities they’ve legitimately earned
If Polyphony Digital is indeed implementing such systems:
• They have a responsibility to be transparent about it
• Players deserve to know if their race results are being manipulated
• The competitive integrity of their esports platform is at stake
Gran Turismo has positioned itself as “The Real Driving Simulator” and has built a serious esports ecosystem around that premise. If retention manipulation is occurring, it fundamentally undermines everything the series claims to represent.
As competitors, we need to know that our results reflect our actual performance, not algorithmic decisions designed to keep us engaged. The World Series and the broader GT community deserve better than artificial drama created at the expense of competitive integrity.
I’m sharing this not to be destructive, but because I love this series and want to see it maintain the competitive integrity it promises. If I’m wrong, I’d welcome clarification from Polyphony Digital. If I’m right, then we need to have an honest conversation about what this means for the future of competitive Gran Turismo.
Has anyone else experienced similar issues? I’d love to hear from other high-level players about whether they’ve noticed these patterns too.
I’ve been racing in Gran Turismo games for years, working my way up through the ranks to achieve A+ driver rating in both GT7 and Sport. I’ve competed at GT1 level of World Series, putting in thousands of hours perfecting my craft across multiple GT titles. This isn’t coming from a casual player frustrated with losing – this comes from someone who has lived and breathed this series since its inception.
Recently, I’ve begun to suspect that GT7 may be employing retention manipulation tactics during online races. These are common practice tactics that big game developers use and in my opinion deceptive. What I’m experiencing feels like deliberate performance handicapping designed to create artificially close racing, particularly when competing against slower-rated drivers. I’ll use this weeks deed forest as an example. I’m mid 1:26s as a qualifying time but because of my region and Rank there are not many players with this pace or Dr rank to compete with. In races it is somehow impossible to achieve writhing 0.800 of my qualification time despite driving the car extremely fast and pushing obviously at the correct time when tyres are as good as new and with low fuel.
Why I think this is accruing is because of what I stated previously. Here are my suspicions as to why.
The symptoms I’m noticing include:
• Cars not performing as they should in specific races
• Sudden, unexplainable loss of grip at crucial moments
• Performance inconsistencies that don’t align with car setup or driving conditions
• These issues seeming to occur more frequently when racing against lower-rated opponents
While I’m not entirely certain about the technical methods that could be used to slow down faster drivers, the pattern is becoming too consistent to ignore. Whether it’s through subtle physics manipulation, grip reduction, or other behind-the-scenes adjustments, something feels fundamentally wrong. If my suspicions are correct, the implications extend far beyond just frustrating individual races.
If the game is artificially manipulating race outcomes, then our Driver Rating (DR) system becomes meaningless. DR should reflect genuine driving skill and consistency, not the result of algorithmic interference designed to create “exciting” close racing.
This has serious consequences for World Series qualification. These events are supposed to represent the pinnacle of GT competition, where the fastest and most skilled drivers compete. If DR ratings are being artificially manipulated, then:
• Deserving drivers might be prevented from qualifying
• The competitive integrity of the entire World Series is compromised
• Players are being denied opportunities they’ve legitimately earned
If Polyphony Digital is indeed implementing such systems:
• They have a responsibility to be transparent about it
• Players deserve to know if their race results are being manipulated
• The competitive integrity of their esports platform is at stake
Gran Turismo has positioned itself as “The Real Driving Simulator” and has built a serious esports ecosystem around that premise. If retention manipulation is occurring, it fundamentally undermines everything the series claims to represent.
As competitors, we need to know that our results reflect our actual performance, not algorithmic decisions designed to keep us engaged. The World Series and the broader GT community deserve better than artificial drama created at the expense of competitive integrity.
I’m sharing this not to be destructive, but because I love this series and want to see it maintain the competitive integrity it promises. If I’m wrong, I’d welcome clarification from Polyphony Digital. If I’m right, then we need to have an honest conversation about what this means for the future of competitive Gran Turismo.
Has anyone else experienced similar issues? I’d love to hear from other high-level players about whether they’ve noticed these patterns too.
