Racing sports have always been the realm of the wealthy. The sheer cost of playing with supercharged cars makes it a dream most will never realize. Games like Gran Turismo have changed that—and now, they are changing it again for the better. It has just been announced that points racked up while playing the latest Gran Turismo Sport can, in fact, be used to certify actual racing licenses.
Jalopnik reported that the FIA will be the one releasing these racing licenses to GT players. The game does not come out until November of this year so there is still plenty of time to iron the many details of such a partnership.
Never before had a racing game and a real world racing governing body been in such close collaboration. Top Gear reported that “Sport Mode” offers FIA sanctioned events, as well as 24-hour races and daily challenges. The FIA World Final will even include live-streaming and live comments.
More details include a “sportsmanship rating” that gives low points for crashing into fellow racers. Races will also be regulated so that only players of the same skill rating as you would be included in the races.
The real prize for Jedi master-level players is the newly created FIA Gran Turismo Digital License. It sounds fancy, and it is legit too as it is recognized by 25 motorsport clubs around the world. Motor Sports Association (UK), General German Automobile Club (ADAC) and even the Rwanda Automobile Club is in on it too.
In related news, Gran Turismo Sport beta has just been canceled, Ubergizmo reported. It sounds anticlimactic, but it was explained that rolling out a beta and releasing the game in November would just take double the amount of resources. Basically, it makes more sense to let everyone wait for the actual game.
Hopefully, all the time and resources that Polyphony will put into Gran Turismo Sport will pay off as it has very high ambitions for its players—and its best players will also equally high ambitions for themselves care of the FIA license.
Check out this video by Carfection detailing the events of press launch of Gran Turismo Sport:
