'Gran Turismo 7' release date delayed to 2017 to include further improvements

Gran Turismo 6, the most recent title in the seriesSony

"Gran Turismo 7" is eventually going to come out but the flagship racing title for the Sony PlayStation will not hit store shelves for some time. According to a report from KPopStarz, the game is being delayed even further and may be rolled out by 2017, although there is no definitive release date locked yet. 

According to the report, the game will not be released in 2015 or 2016 because developer Polyphonic Digital is still working on improving the game. This includes hiring a new audio director to re-work the title's sound department. Even more interesting is that the new audio director was a former audio lead for Microsoft, Sony's direct competitor. 

Realty Today reports that Mike Cavieziel left Microsoft and joined Polyphonic Digital's team for "Gran Turismo 7" last month. Cavieziel previously worked as the audio lead for the "Forza Motorsports" racing franchise on Microsoft's consoles, the Xbox 360 and Xbox One. 

The game's audio isn't the only aspect that the company is working on improving. CEO Kazunori Yamauchi explained in the report that the team is also focusing on adding more to the total of premium vehicles in the game. Standard cars from older titles in the franchise will still be included. 

Accuracy of the game's racing tracks are also being tested. "Gran Turismo" is the only franchise to have official certification from the Federation Internationale de I'Automobile to use the likeness of its racing circuits. In order to test the accuracy of their FIA tracks, the company will hold a special FIA Online event sometime this year. 

Even FIA Head of Safety, Jacques Berger, was impressed with the attention to detail that Polyphonic Digital has given to their racing tracks for "Gran Turismo 7."

"It was not until we completed the tests between our track data and the game's track data that we fully appreciated the level of work and attention to detail that goes into the development," Berger explained in June last year. "It was not just the tracks that have been precisely mapped out, but also the surrounding landscapes such as the run-off areas, grandstands and buildings."