Gran Turismo Sport is expected to race across the finish line (puns like this means I’m a professional, right?) on November 15th. In adhering to their tight schedule in order to meet the ever-important holiday shopping season, Polyphony Digital has already decided to cancel the game’s public beta, but with just three months left, can the developers deliver another 30% in production?

Game Director Kazunori Yamauchi speaking with Chinese outlet Sina:

 We’re hard at work every day, and the game keeps improving daily. The progress during the London reveal was at 50%, and now it’s around 70%. There are still many aspects which can be further improved. 

I’ve always been against the idea of  GT Sport skipping a public beta, seeing how much DriveClub suffered without a massive open beta when their long-delayed game finally launched to massive server issues. Evolution Studios would eventually sort DriveClub out and in turn, delivered what I think is still the best driving simulator in this generation but with months of problems which were costly and hurting sales, it’s likely the reason the studio eventually shuttered. With no public beta in the works and only 70% of the game complete, is it reasonable to assume that GT Sport can actually meet its November deadline?

Games are complicated business; just ask the team at Hello Games who are delivering a massive day 1 patch for No Man’s Sky. But a game like Gran Turismo Sport is, in many ways, infinitely more complex, due to its variety of cars, tracks, and customization options that are available, offering a nearly endless number of combinations to the gamers. If that wasn’t enough, to add to it all is a crucial online component at the center of the game with a franchise history that isn’t known for its robust online play and suddenly three months till launch begins to look dicey.

I might sound like a broken record, but I’d much rather see a game be delayed than one that launches and needs another two months worth of patches before it’s stable. Not only is that a poor experience for gamers, but it also can dramatically affect sales and future installments.

If it comes to it, I hope Yamauchi and company take a page out of Naughty Dog’s playbook and delay GT Sport till Spring so they can deliver on their always ambitious and expansive game.

Discuss:

Are you worried about GT Sport or do you think three months is time enough to complete the remaining 30%?

[Via GT Planet]