After “That” Horizon 5 Deal, Is Gran Turismo 8 Now Coming To Xbox And PC?

With Forza Horizon arriving on PlayStation, is Gran Turismo 8 finally set to break from PlayStation exclusivity and head the other way?

Gran Turismo has been PlayStation’s holy grail exclusive racing franchise since its introduction in 1997. The series is known for its stunning visuals and impressive driving physics, which combine to create what many still consider the ultimate console racing experience.

The early game undoubtedly helped define future generations of driving games, setting the standard with which competitors have continued to compete for decades.

Until now, it’s been unthinkable that we’d ever have the chance to experience what the GT series offers without splashing out on a PlayStation console. However, recent shifts in the industry make it more likely than ever that another upset might be on the way.

Could Gran Turismo 8 become the next candidate to break away from platform exclusivity by heading over to Xbox and PC after more than 27 years? Let’s look at why this seems more likely now than ever.

Gran Turismo 7 Was Supposedly Set For A PC Release

Earlier this year, there were strong rumors that a Gran Turismo 7 port for PC was in the works, which was later shelved. According to sources, this decision wasn’t due to a change in Sony’s PC release strategy but because of “future plans.”

Since then, the “shelved” wording left plenty of speculation floating around. This leaves the door open for the port to arrive later, unlike if they’d canceled the plans entirely.

The “future plans” aspect also raises another question – what if Sony isn’t abandoning the idea, but rather choosing not to spend time working on the old game? Instead, they might be looking at a much bigger opportunity…

If GT8 is targeting a 2026-2027 release window, aligning with the series’ typical 4-5 year gap since GT7’s 2022 release, it makes more business sense to focus on making the new game a cross-platform launch from the start.

This could explain why the GT7 PC port was shelved – Sony might (hopefully) be reallocating resources toward a more ambitious multi-platform release for Gran Turismo 8.

Designing the game for multiple platforms from the start would be significantly more efficient than retrofitting a console exclusive later.

“That” Forza Horizon PS5 Deal

Recently, many hugely unexpected exclusivity deals with the console industry giants have been going down behind the scenes.

Once upon a time, Xbox fans would’ve laughed at a PlayStation gamer for suggesting that the most popular racing game, Forza Horizon, would ever reach their console.

Yet, there’s now less than a month until Forza Horizon 5 is officially released on the PlayStation Store (and it still feels weird saying that!).

In addition, Microsoft also guaranteed that Call of Duty will remain on PlayStation platforms following its Activision Blizzard acquisition.

The controversy it’s caused (not to mention the angry Xbox crowd) makes us wonder whether an exchange deal is going down in the background.

Redditor u/second_time_again aptly put it: “I don’t understand why Microsoft would agree to guarantee COD for PlayStation without getting GT available to Xbox or PC”, highlighting what many have been thinking.

Despite the mixed opinions on the move, Microsoft is clearly reaping financial benefits with Horizon 5 topping multiple PlayStation Store sales charts worldwide (to the surprise of many).

This is an especially big win, given that FH5 was losing momentum following the release of the Ultimate Car Pack Collection. This was seemingly a final roll-out, combining all the DLCs into one pack.

The “new” release gave the series a fresh boost – for PlayStation gamers, anyway!

Let’s not forget that Forza Horizon 5 is over three years old now, and many Xbox fans feel that they’re essentially flogging Sony a dead horse, even if the sales PlayStation figures (very much) argue otherwise!

Could Sony and Microsoft (the former arch-enemies) potentially realize they could help each other succeed going forward? And could Nintendo even consider getting in on the action?

Times are changing fast, and with rumors that Xbox is considering going entirely multi-platform shortly, we don’t think anything’s too far-fetched right now!

A Cross-Platform GT8 Release Could Be A Win-Win For Everyone

Racing games aren’t cheap to develop, especially when seeking perfection. Gran Turismo is known for its incredibly detailed cars (even Forza owners won’t argue that one!), tracks, and physics systems that require huge financial investments.

GT7 took years to create, and GT8 will undoubtedly require even more resources to meet the ever-growing need for improvements. The financial pressure of developing such high-quality games continues to mount with each generation.

The upcoming Horizon 5 PS5 release has proven that there’s so much untapped potential by opting to release games on more platforms.

Likewise, a multi-platform release for Gran Turismo 8 will undoubtedly generate significantly higher revenue than maintaining platform exclusivity would have.

Since Sony has already broken the PlayStation exclusivity barrier, bringing games like God of War, Spider-Man, and Horizon Zero Dawn to PC, they’ve undoubtedly already seen the benefits. Sure, you lose exclusivity for some games, but it’s a risk that seems to be paying off. So far, at least.

It also means they’ll have more cash to splash when it comes to building future versions, allowing them to continue making it bigger and better than ever. This is undoubtedly a winner for fans in the long haul (if they can get over the exclusivity arguments!)

Although PC fans already have the likes of Assetto Corsa at their disposal (which is arguably the better choice, especially for drifting), many also want to experience Gran Turismo without purchasing a PlayStation console, even if it is somewhat similar to Forza Motorsport (hey, don’t shoot us down!).

Opting to release GT8 with cross-play features would undoubtedly please many racing fans who want to compete against their friends without needing to fork out for multiple platforms.

Who knows – a PC release might even unleash a potential Gran Turismo modding community, as we’ve seen from Assetto Corsa – although that might be something Sony is intentionally trying to avoid!

There May Be More Good News For Xbox And PC Fans, Too

Although the PlayStation Horizon 5 release left many Xbox fans disappointed, it could be possible that Microsoft has been a little cheeky (and clever) by opting to bring FH5 to PlayStation so long after its initial release (with a full price tag, too!)

There’s many rumors floating around that Playground Games is yet to announce the biggest news, which could be a Forza Horizon 6 release date announcement at Summer Game Fest on June 6-9, 2025.

Given the likely possibility that the PS5 release was planned intentionally to boost the hype train ahead of a fresh Xbox/PC-exclusive title with Forza Horizon 6, it would certainly give something for Xbox fans to cheer about once again just a couple of months later! (Unless it awkwardly gets announced for PlayStation right away, too!)

The decision to delay Fable 4 until 2026 made the 2025 Forza Horizon 6 rumor even more likely. It seems Xbox could be making room in their release schedule for something big.

While it seems unlikely that Forza Horizon 6 will be a day-one PS5 release, it’s certainly not impossible. The same applies to Gran Turismo 8. Given the recent shocks, we’re no longer sure what to believe!

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