Gran Turismo Sport Is Officially Dead

Time has been ticking on Gran Turismo Sport. Creators Polyphony Digital last year announced the online services for the game would be coming to an end in January 2024, and with that time now here, the game has been completely removed from sale.

It was September last year when the announcement came that the 2017 multiplayer-focused spin-off of The Real Driving Simulator would see its online modes closed on 31 January, which continues to remain the case, while its single-player elements continue to be playable. Polyphony said it would be switching full focus to “further improve the online services” of Gran Turismo 7.

Downloadable content for GT Sport was removed from sale on 1 December, though no announcement was made that the whole game would be de-listed from the PlayStation Store.

If you already purchased the game, you’ll still be able to download it but those who missed out will have to rely on second-hand physical copies. Those with a PS5 Digital Edition wishing to try the game for the first time will be out of luck, however.

On the face of it, it’s not a huge deal. Most of those keen on GT Sport will surely have picked up a copy by this point, while Gran Turismo 7’s Sport mode contains practically everything the 2017 title offered anyway.

Racing games are no stranger to a delisting, either, mainly down to the vast number of official licences contained within them for cars and music. For example, in 2021, Forza Motorsport 7 was consigned to the digital history books despite being the then-current title in the series.

However, it does add to the conversation of longer-term game preservation as we shift ever closer to a fully digital age of gaming. With physical copies of the game existing, GT Sport isn’t forever lost to time yet, but it does set a precedent for future titles.