DriveClub PlayStation Plus Edition launching June 25, online access rolling out gradually

DriveClub's long-awaited PlayStation Plus Edition will finally be available to all Plus subscribers — for real this time — tomorrow, June 25, Sony announced today on the PlayStation Blog.

"We've spent a long time preparing for this launch after some difficult and unexpected set-backs," said Shuhei Yoshida, president of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios, of which DriveClub developer Evolution Studios is a subsidiary.

The PS Plus Edition, a trial version of DriveClub that comprises a subset of the full game, was announced in 2013 and scheduled to be released alongside DriveClub in October 2014. But Sony held back the launch of the free version due to severe connectivity issues in the main game, then postponed the release indefinitely. As of late February, Sony said the servers still weren't ready to handle the influx of players that would likely come with the PS Plus Edition.

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The PS Plus Edition briefly appeared on the PlayStation Store yesterday, but Sony quickly took it down; Evolution later said the release was "premature." It's actually launching tomorrow, but not in full.

"To make absolutely certain that all players have the smoothest and most stable experience possible we are going to be duly cautious about how we release the game this time around," said Yoshida today.

DriveClub PS Plus Edition will be available to all PlayStation Plus members starting tomorrow, but most of them will be restricted to playing offline. As for the online component, Sony will gradually roll out access over time in an effort to ensure that the servers stay functional.

"We know that this might be frustrating after your extra wait already, but hope you can understand that we are taking extra precautions to protect your experience when you do get online," said Yoshida.

For more on DriveClub, check out our review.