Update []:
A little while ago, we reported on the impending release of a game named Gran Carismo, amid Sony's efforts to prevent poor quality, low-effort games from popping up on PS Store.
Well, it seems Sony's legal team really did give publisher Appwill Company a slap on the wrist, as it's been forced to alter the game's title so it less closely resembles Gran Turismo.
The game, which launched earlier this month, is now named Grand Car Racing.
It seems this measure hasn't been deemed necessary on other platforms, as the same game is still called Gran Carismo on Steam and Nintendo eShop.
The change was perhaps made hastily, as while the title has been changed on PS Store, the tile artwork has not — it still says the old name:
Bit of a mess, this, but it does seem to have been resolved, sort of.
Original Story: Sony has been battling the PS Store's infestation of shovelware lately. It's been wiping thousands of low-quality, low-effort games from its digital storefront in a bid to keep the quality bar that bit higher.
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Unfortunately, while it's a valiant effort on the company's part, more and more of them pop up all the time, but Sony might want to pay attention to one upcoming game in particular.
We can't quite put our finger on it, but something about this game doesn't quite sit right:
It goes without saying, but this game's title is obviously extremely similar to Gran Turismo, Sony's popular first-party racing series.
Funnily enough, Gran Carismo has been available on Steam and Nintendo Switch since 2024, but surely releasing on PS5 is flying too close to the sun?
Of course, this game is just one example of many PS Store games with daringly similar names to popular titles. These copycats are intentionally misleading, trying to get some easy money from customers who aren't paying close enough attention.
The reality is that games like this are still coming thick and fast on PS Store (and every other platform), and there's not much that can really be done about it without some radical changes to how games are submitted and approved for release.
It's tricky because implementing stricter conditions could inadvertently exclude genuine efforts from small developers.
At the very least, though, it does seem Sony is looking into specific cases, especially companies that are spamming shovelware games on PS Store by the dozen.
It'll be interesting to see if Gran Carismo makes it onto PS Store without crossing the desks of PlayStation's legal team.