The first big fix for Gran Turismo 7‘s launch issues—specifically grinding that’s made worse by microtransactions—is now live.
The fix boosts payouts for the campaign and online events and adds new events as well. These new events include races at Le Mans, Sardegna, and Tokyo Expressway that slot into other tweaked races towards the end of the story that now deliver bigger payouts.
There are also new one-hour endurance events available in Gran Turismo 7 once the player reaches Collector Level 23, all coming under ‘The Human Comedy’ banner, and online will now offer bigger payouts. But wait, there’s more! The off-road physics, which were a bit wonky before, are now grounded, and some new graphical tweaks have been put in too. Check out the full list of what’s new in Gran Turismo 7 version 1.11 in the extensive patchnotes.
Polyphony Digital has also promised to implement fixes such as the ability to sell cars and plus put in full-on 24 hour races that haven’t made their way into the game yet. Previously, in March, the game spent more than 24 hours offline, which made its single-player virtually unplayable as it needs to be connected to the internet to work.
A patch was sent out, but it nerfed the credit payout of several events that had become favourite grinding spots for many players. The move caused considerable uproar in the Gran Turismo community, made worse by the fact players can buy in-game currency on the PlayStation Store.
The game’s economy pushes players toward microtransactions. But thankfully for players, the feedback hasn’t gone unnoticed.
As series creator Kazunori Yamauchi said, “In GT7 I would like to have users enjoy lots of cars and races even without microtransactions,” he wrote. “At the same time, the pricing of cars is an important their value and rarity, so I do think it’s important for it to be linked with the real world prices.”
These changes are a step in the right direction, but what remains to be seen is if the fixes can help the series regain the acclaim of previous entries. A series that’s been around since 1997 and appeared on every PlayStation console since then.
