In late 2019, Sony announced an artificial-intelligence division, exclusively focused on “unleashing human imagination and creativity with AI.” While news from the studio has been sparse in the two years since, an exciting announcement is due this week in collaboration with Gran Turismo 7 developer Polyphony Digital. The specifics of this “breakthrough project” won’t be revealed until February 9, but a brief teaser video has been posted to the official Sony AI YouTube channel. Sadly, it doesn’t shed much light on what the collab actually entails.
An announcement was also posted to the Sony AI Twitter account, with many users questioning if the project has something to do with the Gran Turismo series.
In May 2021, Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida commented on the potential of gaming with improved AI. “Sony AI, which we established last year, has begun a collaboration with PlayStation that will make game experiences even richer and more enjoyable. By leveraging reinforcement learning, we are developing Game AI Agents that can be a player’s in-game opponent or collaboration partner,” he said.
Polyphony Digital’s Gran Turismo 7 was initially planned for release last year. After a delay due to the ongoing pandemic, the racing game will now be released on March 4, 2022 for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. A 30-minute State of Play presentation, broadcast last Wednesday, focused entirely on the game’s seventh installment. The title will require 110 GB of space on the PlayStation 5.
“GT7 is both the culmination of the series which answers the expectations of GT fans throughout the years, and at the same time it is a title that marks a beginning of a difficult mission to contain the full breadth of car culture from the past into a single video game,” Polyphony Digital CEO Kazunori Yamauchi said last September.
In order to access Gran Turismo 7‘s campaign mode, livery editor, Scapes photo mode, and GT Cafe, players will need to be connected to the PlayStation Network.
