To apply for The Playerbase, participants must be aged 18 or over, have a PlayStation account ID, and fill in basic details along with answering how PlayStation impacted their life. A limited number of finalists will be chosen to participate in video interviews to learn about them and their connection to PlayStation. The interview evaluation criteria include authentic love for PlayStation, authentic love for Gran Turismo 7, shareable and entertaining content, and a story interesting enough for compelling content. It remains unclear how many finalists will be selected for these interviews.
The winner will have their likeness appear as an in-game character portrait in Gran Turismo 7 for a limited time. They will also design a custom Fantasy logo and vehicle livery permanently added to the Showcase menu, as part of a paid trip to a visual arts studio in Los Angeles. The winner will be selected in summer 2026, with their likeness rolled out as part of a Gran Turismo 7 update later this year, though the exact timeline for this update is not specified. Sony plans to incorporate fans into future PlayStation titles through The Playerbase, presumably in a similar format, but what specific other games will be involved beyond Gran Turismo 7 has not been disclosed. Full terms and conditions regarding the use of participants' likenesses and data, as well as how Sony will ensure ethical use of emotional stories in social media engagement, are also unknown.