The racing game series Gran Turismo will feature cars from Porsche for the first time ever when the next entry in the franchise launches later this year.
Gran Turismo is one of the world’s most popular driving games, but even though the series is famous for offering a vast array of cars both popular and niche, no prior Gran Turismo game has ever featured Porsche. This is largely because between the early 2000s and last year, the game studio Electronic Arts (EA) had exclusive rights over the Porsche brand.
This meant that while Porsches have featured in EA-developed driving games like Need for Speed, other game studios such as Polyphony Digital (which develops Gran Turismo) have missed out on featuring this popular sports car brand.
Some exceptions have been made in the past, as Porsches have featured in Microsoft-developed games including Forza and Project Gotham Racing. Despite this, Porsche has remained elusive to Gran Turismo up until now.
But towards the end of 2016, reports emerged online which indicated EA’s exclusivity deal with Porsche would expire at the end of the year, as Porsche apparently no longer found the deal to be desirable.
With the next entry in the Gran Turismo series, titled Gran Turismo Sport, set to launch for the Playstation 4 later this year, its developers have evidently taken full advantage of the change in circumstances. Various social media posts on numerous Playstation-related accounts have confirmed the presence of Porsche cars in the next Gran Turismo game. The posts include screenshots of Gran Turismo Sport featuring the Porsche 911 GT3 RS in action.
The news is sure to delight many among the sizeable Gran Turismo fan base who had to get their Porsche-driving fix from either an alternative game or by using one of the RUF models that have featured in past Gran Turismo games. RUF cars are derived from unmarked Porsche chassis but are technically classed as its own distinct manufacturer.
That has allowed games like Gran Turismo to effectively include Porsche cars while getting around EA’s exclusivity deal. No such loophole will be deemed necessary though going forward.
No exact release date has been confirmed yet for Gran Turismo Sport, but late 2017 is the current estimate.
