Although only getting a brief mention during the official reveal stream for the console, GT7 was the main focus during a short segment touting the console's improved support for real-time ray tracing.
Players who currently use a PS5 for the game will know well that you can select different graphics modes that enable ray-tracing at the expense of frame rate or disable it for the targeted 60fps, but that it's not available on-track during races at all.
PlayStation 5 Pro should change that state of affairs, bringing real-time ray-tracing and 60fps in full 4K as you drive. We got to see a very brief example of that in action in a couple of short videos of an Alsace snail race in Volkswagen Type 2s, and some action with a C7 Corvette at Laguna Seca and a Plymouth Superbird at Blue Moon Bay.
That's not quite the full story either as press who had hands-on with the new console at Sony Interactive Entertainment's US headquarters in San Mateo also report that GT7 will have an 8K mode as part of its PlayStation 5 Pro enhancements. Frame rate on this is unknown at present, but we're expecting no less than 60fps.
With the PlayStation 5 Pro itself becoming available on November 7 2024, we're anticipating that the free update enabling these modes will be coming along in the next couple of months.
Regular fans will know that Polyphony Digital usually produces content updates on the final Thursday of any given month — though there wasn't one in August — so that's likely to come toward the end of September or October in order to arrive in time for the console's launch. PD hasn't yet announced this officially, so we'll have to wait to find out.
Notably, that will mean GT7 has supported two successive PlayStation hardware launches, being a day one title for the PlayStation VR2 back in February 2023.
We're likely to also see an update to GT7's box art to include the "PlayStation 5 Pro Enhanced" branding that will appear on all such titles soon.
