'Driveclub' finally reaches PlayStation Plus on June 25th
Remember how Sony promised you a free version of Driveclub with your PlayStation Plus subscription about, oh, two years ago? You'll finally get to claim it this week. The Plus Edition of Evolution Studios' PS4 racing game is launching on June 25th, giving you a chance to see what all the hype was about. Sony is taking care to avoid the server meltdowns that plagued the retail game's debut, too. On day one, you'll only have guaranteed access to offline play -- internet races will gradually roll out to make sure that this socially-oriented title works as advertised.
In many ways, the PS Plus release represents the close to an embarrassing chapter for both the game creator and Sony. Driveclub was supposed to be a standard bearer for the PS4 that showed off both Plus and the console's technical prowess, but seemingly nothing went right. The game missed the PS4's launch thanks to a last-minute delay, which ultimately led to a roughly year-long wait as the developers reworked large sections of gameplay. And as Kotaku has learned, the several months of extra waiting for the PS Plus version was virtually necessary. Evolution had to overhaul code so that Driveclub's servers wouldn't buckle under demand like they did last fall, and Sony went so far as to establish a multiplayer quality check team to prevent repeat incidents. If everything goes smoothly on the 25th, you'll know that both teams have learned some hard lessons.
