Image via Sony Interactive Entertainment

Gran Turismo 7 Metacritic User Score plummets to 1.9 following microtransaction and always online controversy

A fall from grace.

Tai Hofmann

Published: Mar 21, 2022 12:30 pm

Few games see the level of success that Gran Turismo 7 has. While critics reviewed this first-party release from PlayStation well, recent changes have caused players to revolt against Polyphony Digital and Sony Interactive Entertainment.

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One of the issues that left players unsatisfied in the latest rendition of the Sony-exclusive driving simulator was the always-online functionality. Because Gran Turismo 7 requires players to connect online, the game becomes unavailable, even in single-player, when the studio takes the servers down for maintenance. The update led to a 30-hour period where players could not access the bulk of the game. Polyphony Digital made the following response when met with fan backlash.

Due to an issue found in Update 1.07, we will be extending the Server Maintenance period. We will notify everyone as soon as possible when this is likely to be completed. We apologize for this inconvenience and ask for your patience while we work to resolve the issue. #GT7
— Gran Turismo (@thegranturismo) March 17, 2022

Fans found this response to the massive outage unsatisfactory, as this full retail price game is essentially useless any time the game is down during a server outage.

Related: All Trophies in Gran Turismo 7

Not only has Gran Turismo 7 frustrated fans with forced online functionality, but it has also done so with a change to credit payouts that makes them harder to earn and encourages players to purchase microtransactions. The exorbitant prices for cars make earning them a slog, forcing players to pay real-world money to skip an unbearable grind with some cars costing tens of millions of credits, as shown by Twitter user Thunder_THR below:

Wow.

I guess Sony really wants our real money, don't they?

Now if only you could do races that made getting this money in game less painful.#GT7 #GranTurismo7 pic.twitter.com/tvMYtEAkK0
— ThunderTHR🏳️‍🌈 (@Thunder_THR) March 21, 2022

Two million credits cost players $19.99 on the PlayStation Store, meaning a car valued at 18 million in-game credits will run players $180 to bypass the grind.

When faced with criticism on overpriced cars, Kazunori Yamauchi stated that the prices of these vehicles aim to mimic their real-life counterparts, angering even longtime fans like RazorBladeMango even more.

I'm a veteran when it comes to studying PR bullshit, but this AWFUL response to the #GranTurismo7 DRM and microtransactions controversies from Kazunori Yamauchi might be one of the most insulting things I've ever read. It's so tone-deaf that it almost breaks my brain. pic.twitter.com/kcfZuAJLZw
— RazorBlade Mango (@RazorBladeMango) March 20, 2022

The Metacritic score for Gran Turismo 7 has been hit with severe fan backlash following these issues, with the user score currently sitting at 1.9 for Gran Turismo 7 on PS5, the lowest user score for any PS5 exclusive to date.