After a successful return to an in-person LAN-based finale in Monaco last season, the World Series Esports competitions – the Nations Cup and the Manufacturers Cup – make a comeback for another season with notable modifications.
Similar to the previous competition, anyone with a PlayStation 4 or PlayStation 5 console who also has a copy of Gran Turismo 7 can participate by entering in-game qualification rounds before coming up against World Series drivers during the August Showdown event in Amsterdam.
After the August event, the World Final will take place in December at an undisclosed venue, which will be announced in the coming days.
In 2023, the Nations Cup format undergoes a notable transformation. Traditionally a solo competition that determines the world’s top Gran Turismo driver and crowns the ‘quickest’ country, significant changes have been introduced to this championship.
Interesting changes to this year’s event
In addition, the Manufacturers Cup, which has previously featured three drivers per team, will continue to be a team event this year. However, a noteworthy change is that the Nations Cup will now adopt the trio line-up format, mirroring the structure of the Manufacturers Cup.
During the Showdown event, the reigning finalists of the Nations Cup will now be matched with up-and-coming drivers selected from the open qualifiers. This pairing will form a team for each region, introducing an exciting dynamic to the competition.
The qualifying phase has already commenced in the game. Both competitions, the Nations Cup and the Manufacturers Cup, consist of seven online rounds leading up to the in-person events, with the qualifying period lasting until July 1st.
Following the qualifying rounds, the Showdown event will take place in Amsterdam from August 11th to 12th. This event plays a crucial role in determining the entry list for the World Finals, which will be held on December 2nd and 3rd.
In case you missed it, here’s the recently released trailer for the forthcoming Gran Turismo movie:
Isa Muhammad is a writer and video game journalist covering many aspects of entertainment media including the film industry. He's steadily writing his way to the sharp end of journalism and enjoys staying informed. If he's not reading, playing video games or catching up on his favourite TV series, then he's probably writing about them.
