DriveClub PS Plus Edition upgrade buyers will now get to keep playing after PS Plus expires

PlayStation Plus members who pay to upgrade the PS Plus Edition of DriveClub to the full game will now be able to continue playing if their PS Plus subscription runs out, publisher Sony Computer Entertainment announced today.

That wasn't the case when Evolution Studios detailed the PS Plus Edition earlier this week. Anybody would have been able to buy DriveClub outright for the standard retail price of $59.99, while PS Plus subscribers could download the game's PS Plus Edition for free and would then have the option of upgrading to the full game for $49.99. However, access to DriveClub thereafter would remain valid only as long as the upgrade buyer maintained an active PS Plus membership.

Sony reversed its policy today, in response to the public outcry about the original terms of the upgrade.

"PlayStation recognizes that the prior plan for DriveClub entitlement for the upgrade to the PS Plus edition was not appropriate. As a result, we have adjusted the PlayStation Plus terms for DriveClub," reads an update to the PlayStation Blog post about the PS Plus Edition. "Now, if you intend on downloading DriveClub PlayStation Plus Edition, and upgrading to the full game experience, you will have access to the full game even if your PlayStation Plus subscription runs out."

A Sony representative confirmed to Polygon today that the upgrade for the PS Plus Edition will still cost $49.99, which effectively makes DriveClub $10 cheaper for PS Plus subscribers who want a digital copy of the game.

DriveClub's new game director, Paul Rustchynsky, took to the PS Blog today to post two videos explaining a couple of the game's primary features. Clubs are DriveClub's namesake, and Evolution Studios is hoping the feature encourages players to race together. Everything that a Club member does in DriveClub helps out their fellow Club members: Achieving goals earns accolades, which raise a Club's reputation and increase the multiplier for Fame, a measure of success in DriveClub. You can watch the Clubs video above.

The second video, which you can check out below, focuses on Challenges. Each track in DriveClub is split into sections, and every section can serve as the basis for global competition. Players can set the top speed on a straightaway or the drift distance through a hairpin turn, for example, and then beam out those marks as challenges to the DriveClub community. And completing challenges or beating other people's records will earn Fame for players and their Clubs.

DriveClub is set for release Oct. 7 exclusively on PlayStation 4.