A translated quote from series creator Kazunori Yamauchi reveals Gran Turismo 7 will not utilize PlayStation 5 ray tracing during races. Though a fairly novel technological advancement in gaming, ray tracing techniques have quickly become a staple over the last couple of years in the PC space. Thanks to the power of Microsoft's and Sony's latest consoles, ray-traced lighting has also earned itself a place in many a console game.

The computational complexity of ray tracing makes truly mastering its techniques difficult on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, though. Thus, while ray-traced visuals are possible in 4K resolution, it's exceedingly rare to see a game running in 60 frames per second with ray tracing enabled. Insomniac Games figured out a solution for targeting both performance and advanced lighting with its Performance RT modes across Spider-Man Miles Morales, Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered, and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart. Performance RT in Rift Apart, for instance, supports ray tracing in 60fps but the resolution hovers between 1080p and 1440p. But it seems some titles have no choice but to prioritize performance over visuals quality.

Related: Gran Turismo 7 PS5 Experience Will Be Closer To Driving A Real Car Than Ever

Speaking with Japanese outlet Game Watch (via Push Square), Polyphony Digital CEO Kazunori Yamauchi divulged that Gran Turismo 7 will only take advantage of PS5's ray tracing capabilities in garage sequences and during replays. The title's actual racing sections won't boast the advanced lighting technique, Yamauchi explained according to Google Translate. His comment roughly translates to the following: “For the time being, you can choose ray tracing in the replay, and then you can see the stage demo and the picture with ray tracing applied in the garage.”

Gran Turismo 7 Gameplay Screenshot PS5 Exclusive

Again, the complexity and computational cost of ray tracing guarantees corners will be cut, specifically on consoles. These seemingly odd restrictions, thus, make sense for Gran Turismo 7, a title wherein performance and smooth frame rates constitute the top priority.

Announced during Sony's digital PS5 reveal event, Gran Turismo 7 originally boasted a 2021 launch window. Because of pandemic-induced production challenges, Polyphony Digital opted to delay the eagerly-anticipated racing title by several months. Fortunately, the wait is nearly at an end, as the studio confirmed an early 2022 street date during the recent PlayStation Showcase broadcast.

Next: Gran Turismo 7 Will Push PS5 To the Limit With 4K 60FPS & Ray Tracing

Gran Turismo 7 races onto PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 on March 4, 2022.

Source: Game Watch via Push Square