Sony schedules Gran Turismo DualSense controller for PS5 anniversary

Sony is marking the 30th anniversary of its racing franchise with a specialized hardware release, joining a string of milestones that publishers and developers are using to capture persistent player engagement across the PlayStation ecosystem.

Sony Schedules DualSense Special Edition for December 2026

Pre-orders open on October 22, 2026, at 10:00 local time. In Germany and other European regions, the controller will be sold through the official PlayStation Direct Store and participating retailers. The design takes cues from motorsport, featuring racing stripes, graphical accents, and a textured carbon-fiber-look front panel to honor three decades of the racing simulation series.

Kazunori Yamauchi, CEO of Polyphony Digital, noted that the core idea behind the franchise was bringing the beauty and joy of automobiles to a broad audience, while thanking the community for accompanying the series over the decades. The hardware arrives alongside a broader wave of content updates for the franchise, which recently crossed the milestone of 100 million total sales.

Polyphony Deploys Massive Spec 4 Update in Two Waves

While Sony prepares the anniversary hardware, Polyphony Digital is rolling out the extensive Spec 4 update for Gran Turismo 7 in two distinct waves. Play3.de reported that the studio never expected the title to maintain such strong sales years after release, describing the game as a phenomenon that neither the developers nor PlayStation had experienced before. Because of this continuous influx of new players, the team has kept adding features long past the typical software lifecycle. Kazunori Yamauchi, CEO of Polyphony Digital and creator of the legendary racing game series, announced that the development of the extensive Spec IV expansion for Gran Turismo 7 was given the green light solely due to the steady growth of the active player base.

The vehicle roster for October includes the Citroen 2 CV 6 Charleston ’86, Ferrari F355 Berlinetta ’94, Honda Civic Si Group A version ’87, Honda Step WGN Spada Premium Line ’23, Mazda RX-VISION GT3 EVO ’26, and Xiaomi Vision Gran Turismo. With a video trailer showing the new Sportsland SUGO track and the first six of a total of 12 new vehicles split across both updates, the countdown to availability was kicked off for Thursday, October 15, 2026. This also includes the car service for ordering used and legendary cars, and the classic car area for cars that cannot be bought as new cars.

December Brings Autumn Ring Return and AI Evolution

The second wave of the update arrives in December 2026 alongside the anniversary controller release. Play3.de detailed that this second batch will include six additional vehicles, the return of the modernized Autumn Ring track, a family mode, shuffle races, online drift challenges, and the next evolutionary step of the GT Sophy racing AI. An exact release date for the December update wave remains unconfirmed, though additional details are expected during the Gran Turismo World Series world finals in Tokyo.

PlayFront noted that Gran Turismo 7 operates in a unique position relative to Sony’s broader live-service strategy, relying primarily on initial purchase prices and free updates rather than aggressive monetization. Gamegpu added that the game has surpassed its predecessor Gran Turismo Sport with over 12.7 million copies sold worldwide on PlayStation platforms, solidifying its status as a core pillar for the brand as it enters its fourth decade. The game has officially developed into one of the most successful titles for the PlayStation 5.