Gran Turismo 7's patch outage locked owners out of single-player for over 32 hours

Ars Technica reported in March 2022 that Gran Turismo 7 owners could not reach large parts of the single-player game for more than a day. The server maintenance for the 1.07 patch was planned for two hours from 6 am GMT on a Thursday. Six hours in, the official Gran Turismo account said 'an issue found in Update 1.07' meant maintenance would be extended. By Friday morning the outage had passed 32 hours, and although a 1.08 patch was available, gameplay servers stayed offline.

The game's persistent online connection meant most of the single-player campaign was inaccessible: license events, hot laps, missions and even car customisation. Only Music Rally, World Circuit and unlocked AI races worked offline. Polyphony's Kazunori Yamauchi had told Ars the connection was an anti-cheating tool, and Ars noted the game's frequent prompts to spend real money on credits.

Ars contrasted this with Sony's 2013 PR win for saying PS4 disc games would not need online checks for single-player. Hundreds of owners flooded Metacritic with 0/10 reviews, and rival publisher EA tweeted that Grid Legends was 'a videogame with cars in it that you can play right now'. Ars also raised the question of how the game could be played if Sony eventually shut its servers.

Over 32 hours of outage, with most single-player progression unavailable and hundreds of 0/10 user reviews on Metacritic, per Ars.

An issue found in Update 1.07 forced the planned two-hour server window to be extended.

The game requires a persistent online connection even for most single-player progression, which Polyphony says is an anti-cheating measure.

Only a few offline modes remained available when the servers were down.

Sony had previously promoted that PS4 disc games would not need online checks for single-player play.

Tying single-player content to servers makes every patch window a risk for everyone who bought the game.

A 1.08 patch was available to download while the gameplay servers were still offline when Ars published. Ars reported that the episode renewed concern over long-term preservation, since the game depends on servers Sony will one day switch off.