There’s no such thing as Gran Turismo 7… well, publicly at least. That’s why, when a mysterious logo for the unannounced game showed up in an advertisement for gaming peripherals, fans and reporters took notice. Turns out, the entire fiasco was a mistake on the part of the manufacturer, but the people there who are actually to blame for the fuck-up would like everyone to know that “the media” were the ones who acted irresponsibly.
Next Level Racing specializes in immersive cockpits for racing and flight simulators and, naturally, has a vested interest in hyping up games that pair well with its products. In a small bit of community engagement posted to Instagram yesterday, Next Level Racing asked fans which racing games they were looking forward to playing in 2020. Automobilista 2, perhaps? How about F1 2020? Dirt 5 sure looks great. And how could we forget Gran Turismo 7!
Wait, that last one’s not a thing, at least as far as we know. But there it was, a Gran Turismo 7 logo, plain as day, in Next Level Racing’s advertisement. As one would expect, several outlets published stories speculating as to whether the game had just been accidentally revealed. Gran Turismo developer Polyphony Digital has yet to mention a seventh numbered entry in its popular racing series, so many onlookers assumed they were looking at a leak from a company that could be in the know about future releases.
Except that’s not what it was, according to Next Level Racing. In an official statement posted to Instagram last night, the peripheral manufacturer denied any notion that it had inside knowledge of a Gran Turismo 7, or that the logo was legitimate.
“Our team has recognized that a recent post by us using a logo has been misinterpreted by media and it does not reflect any information from our end, and we deny knowing any information regarding the launch of [Gran Turismo 7],” reads Next Level Racing’s statement. “There have been assumptions made in the media that are quite simply untrue. Due to this, we have decided to take down our previous social post. Our Graphic Design Department used the mock logo that is circulated on the internet. We do apologize for any confusion that this might have caused.”
The boilerplate apology was nice, I guess, but scolding the media for covering a potential Gran Turismo 7 reveal is quite the deflection by Next Level Racing. This is literally just the meme of the dude putting a stick in his own bicycle spokes, except the dude is Next Level Racing, the stick is the fake Gran Turismo 7 logo, and he’s blaming his inevitable wipeout on those blasted journalists. And you know what? It’s pretty funny to see it happen in real life.