Can You Earn A Real Racing License By Playing Gran Turismo Sport?

A new interview with Kazunori Yamauchi, the overlord of the Gran Turismo series, has just been published at Gamespot — and it contains an eye-opening revelation about the game that sounds too strange to be true. Is Yamauchi really claiming you can earn a real-world racing license by playing Gran Turismo Sport?

He’s pretty clear about it — unless this is a VERY botched mistranslation, you can do it. “We also have the FIA Gran Turismo Digital License. This is a program that provides a real motorsports license after achieving a certain level of performance within the game. Myself, I have a motorsports license, but acquiring that motorsports license is actually pretty difficult. It takes a lot of time, it takes a lot of money.”

So what’s required? “To become eligible for the license, you have to complete the racing etiquette mode, achieve silver or better results in all the campaign mode events, and then maintain or exceed a certain level of driver class and sportsmanship points,” Yamauchi says.

Why would FIA be okay with this? Desperation, evidently. “Throughout the world right now, there are fewer and fewer people becoming newly involved in motorsports. So this is a program that really aims to increase the popularity of motorsports in the real world.”

Gamespot clarified the terms of the license. “Though the license you can earn through GT Sport qualifies as a “real” license, a motorsports license is not the same thing as a driver’s license. A motorsports or racing license allows you to legally participate in on-track events.”

So there you have it. Once Gran Turismo Sport comes out, you’ll be able to obtain a racing license without ever setting foot in a car. Your five-year-old brother could get one…if he’s good enough, that is.