Sony Interactive Entertainment has announced The Playerbase, a community program that will put real PlayStation fans inside PlayStation Studios games. Selected participants will have their physical appearance captured and rendered as an in-game character portrait within a supported title. Gran Turismo 7 is the first game attached to the program, with additional PlayStation Studios titles to be announced down the line.
The Playerbase is open to players aged 18 and older in select markets across the Americas, Europe, Asia, South Africa, and Australia. Applications open today, April 7, at 7:00 AM PT. Applicants will need to sign in with a PlayStation account ID, answer questions about their PlayStation experience, and may be asked to provide further information as part of the process. Sony will review submissions and bring a limited group of applicants through video interviews to get a better picture of who they are and what PlayStation has meant to them.
One player from that group will be selected for a limited-time in-game appearance in Gran Turismo 7, where their face will be rendered as a character portrait consistent with how the game displays its characters. That player will be brought to a visual arts studio in Los Angeles for a dedicated scanning session using advanced 3D capture technology, and will work alongside a designer to produce a personal Fantasy Logo and vehicle livery. Upon completion, both the logo and the livery will be given a permanent spot in the game’s Showcase menu. Sony will handle travel and lodging for the winner and one additional guest. Sony anticipates announcing the Gran Turismo 7 winner sometime during summer 2026.
Sony has indicated that the program is built to grow, with plans to bring in more PlayStation Studios titles and tailor each fan’s inclusion to whatever form makes sense within that game’s context. Isabelle Tomatis, Vice President of Global Marketing at Sony Interactive Entertainment, framed The Playerbase as an expression of gratitude:
The Playerbase is our way of saying thank you to the players who make PlayStation what it is today. We can’t wait to meet the fans who will step into the world of PlayStation in a whole new way.
Applications are now open here.