Gran Turismo 7: Here Are the Reduced Race Payouts in the New Update
Say goodbye to those easy race win hacks, and hello to using your own money in-game.
Whatever enthusiasm PlayStation gamers had for Gran Turismo 7 took a huge hit this past week after developer Polyphony Digital issued an update to the game that not only took it offline for more than a day—severely limiting its features—but also greatly reduced the credit payout from many races.
To put that in simple terms, it means that GT7 players (which, in the interest of full disclosure, includes yours truly) will earn far less in the way of in-game credits after certain races as a result of this update. As in real life, less money means fewer cars, fewer parts and less fun. It appears that this particular change was done to better emphasize in-game purchases with real-world currency; in GT7, you can spend your actual money to boost your credits, and clearly, Polyphony Digital sees this as an important part of the series' revenue model moving forward.
It's a very unfortunate change for many longtime GT players, many of whom are used to the grind involved with winning races to buy better, faster and rarer cars. In many ways, the grind is the game in GT; expecting players to really spend their own, real-world, hard-earned cash to buy virtual cars is a tough ask, even in our current moment of NFTs and digital currencies.
“The pricing of cars is an important element that conveys their value and rarity, so I do think it’s important for it to be linked with the real world prices,” series creator Kazunori Yamauchi wrote. “I want to make GT7 a game in which you can enjoy a variety of cars lots of different ways, and if possible, would like to try to avoid a situation where a player must mechanically keep replaying certain events over and over again.”
While many players will find it hard to believe that Polyphony Digital really had our best interests at heart here, and not their own bank accounts, this seems to be the reality we're in. And fans are livid, giving this entry the lowest rating for any Sony game on MetaCritic.
As part of this update, my own favorite early trick for the game is no longer as effective. Previously, winning the Clubman Cup Plus race at the Goodwood Motor Circuit, a classic Mini spec race, would net you as much as 52,000 credits for winning and running a clean event. And as many critics are apt to point out, you can also no longer sell your cars (including ones you won but don't want or need) for easy cash; the developers really want you to spend your own cash here.
As discovered by Discord user ddm and reported by Gamespot, with the new payouts in bold for Update 1.08:
- World Rally Challenge: Alsace Village: 50,000 Cr – 30,000 Cr
- Dirt Champions: Fisherman’s Ranch: 65,000 Cr – 30,000 Cr
- Dirt Champions: Sardegna Windmills: 65,000 Cr – 40,000 Cr
- Dirt Champions: Colorado Springs Lake: 65,000 Cr – 40,000 Cr
- GT Cup Gr. 4: HIgh-Speed Ring: 65,000 Cr – 35,000 Cr
- GT Cup Gr. 4: Brands Hatch GP Circuit: 65,000 Cr – 45,000 Cr
- GT Cup Gr. 3: Spa Francorchamps: 75,000 Cr – 50,000 Cr
- GT Cup Gr. 3: Suzuka Circuit: 75,000 Cr – 50,000 Cr
- GT Cup Gr. 3: Autodrome Lago Maggiore: 75,000 Cr – 50,000 Cr
- Clubman Cup Plus: High Speed Ring: 35,000 Cr – 25,000 Cr
- Clubman Cup Plus: Tsukuba Circuit: 35,000 Cr – 25,000 Cr
- Clubman Cup Plus: Goodwood: 35,000 Cr – 12,000 Cr
- American Clubman Cup 700: Special Stage Route X: 30,000 Cr – 15,000 Cr
- American FR Challenge 550: Blue Moon Bay Speedway : 15,000 Cr – 10,000 Cr
- American FR Challenge 550: Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca: 15,000 Cr – 10,000 Cr
- American FR Challenge 550: Willow Springs Raceway: 15,000 Cr – 10,000 Cr
So while some of these payout changes aren't that big—five grand here or there—some of them are outright cut in half or more, making racing to win a much longer and harder proposition. Unless, of course, you're willing to throw down some real money you earn from your actual job. I don't think I will be. How about you?
Are you very, very mad about Gran Turismo 7? I feel your pain. Send me an email so we can be angry together: patrick@thedrive.com
