Sony Interactive Entertainment and Polyphony Digital’s sim racing game, Gran Turismo Sport, has been delisted from the PlayStation Store without any prior notification.
On January 1, 2024, Gran Turismo Sport was delisted from the PlayStation Store. This is rather unusual, as the shutdown announcement made no mention of a delisting date or even mention the possibility of it happening. It was mentioned, however, that, starting December 01, 2023, the distribution of purchasable add-on content from the in-game PlayStation Store will cease.
As per the Polyphony Digital’s blog post, On January 31, 2024, the online services for Gran Turismo Sport will be discontinued. Following the end of the service date, the use of online features such as Community, Open Lobby, and Sport Mode, as well as items like custom liveries, will no longer be possible. However, the offline components of the game, along with any purchased Add-Ons, will remain playable.
However, it turns out that the game has been delisted from the PlayStation Store altogether, and it’s not just the in-game store that is no longer available. This will come as a huge disappointment for game preservationists, as it is no longer possible to purchase a digital copy of Gran Turismo Sport. Whether this was done due to the possible expiry of certain licenses associated with car manufacturers is unknown at this point. Thankfully, it should still be possible to purchase a physical copy of Gran Turismo Sport for fans who wish to add it to their collection.
Gran Turismo Sport placed a significant emphasis on competitive online racing, endorsed by the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA). It served as the platform for the FIA-Certified Gran Turismo Championships. At launch, the game featured 168 cars and 29 tracks. Subsequent game updates, as of July 2021, increased the car count to 338 and track configurations to 82. Free updates also introduced a more traditional single-player campaign mode.
