Responsible for the World Rally Championship (WRC) and MotorStorm games, developer Evolution Studios are no strangers to the world of racing games. With the MotorStorm games being exclusive to PlayStation, when Evolution announced DriveClub for PS4 many fans had high hopes that they would continue to make good use of Sony's hardware.

Unfortunately, despite Evolution Studios' experience with the genre (they've only made racing games as long as they've existed) this hasn't quite been smooth sailing for them. Originally intended as a PS4 launch title, DriveClub's team-based racing gameplay was soon struck with multiple delays, putting the game back by an entire year.

With a year passed and statements from the team that suggested that the delays were necessary to make key improvements is it finally time for DriveClub to shine? It is, but only if you're picking up the full game as the free PlayStation Plus version of the title has been delayed once more.

In a post on the game's official Facebook page, DriveClub director Paul Rustchynsky explained that the delay is due to server trouble. According to Rustchynsky, the game's servers are being pushed "to their absolute limits" and that those who own the full version of the game may be "having a hard time getting online". We couldn't connect all day yesterday on the title's launch. He further explains,

"In order to help all DRIVECLUB players who have the game already, we're temporarily holding back the PS Plus Edition and the My DRIVECLUB app to ease the load and traffic to the servers. This should give players a better chance of connecting to the game servers and, once the servers are operating well, we’ll be sure to let you know when the PS Plus Edition and My DRIVECLUB app will be available to download.

While he tells existing players that they should be fine once they get online, if they can get online (and that the offline mode has a wealth of unlockable vehicles to get some practice in), this will be unfortunate to hear for those who paid for PlayStation Plus subscriptions because they knew that DriveClub was on the way. And, although Rustchynsky says that his team will give PS Plus subscribers "the best experience possible," some may be disgruntled that there really is no such thing as a free lunch.

Offering 11 cars and a handful of tracks (all based in India), some were also considering the PlayStation Plus edition of DriveClub to act like a demo when it was initially advertised as free. One fan commented that "this is just a silly trick to make people buy the full version" while many more have lamented the delay. So while the intention may have been to offer a free appetizer before getting players to shell out for the full meal, the harsh reaction suggests that this may have backfired.

What will be a small reassurance is that the DriveClub dev is working "round the clock to improve connectivity" meaning that the PS Plus edition of the game could be out soon. We'll keep you posted once the new date is announced.

DriveClub is now available on PlayStation 4.

Source: DriveClub Facebook page