To say that the free-to-download PlayStation Plus edition of DriveClub has been a long time coming may be a colossal understatement, but today Evolution Studios has confirmed that the demo is finally nearing its release and has now entered the “final stages” of development.
News comes by way of Twitter, where the developer’s Game Director Paul Rustchynsky responded to an eager fan who posited whether the PS Plus freebie was any closer to launch. And though he didn’t specify a date or even release window, would-be DriveClub fans can take solace in the fact that it is, despite rumors to the contrary, still very much in the pipeline.
@undeadrocker666 We’re in the final stages of development now.
— Paul Rustchynsky (@Rushy33) June 10, 2015
While it’s easy to vent frustration at Evolution for taking so long, the process was evidently a bigger undertaking than the developer had first anticipated. Over the course of the past few months, numerous software updates have laid the technical foundations ahead of the arrival of the PlayStation Plus edition, and it’s heartening to see the team committed to the cause in the face of crippling server trouble.
In fact, it would be rather apt for Evolution to make the announcement that the demo is available during Sony’s E3 press conference on Monday, June 15. The development house has borne the brunt of criticism since DriveClub‘s troubled launch – not to mention internal layoffs – but it’s understood that the company wants to continue the PS4 exclusive as a service into the future. But on the topic of the PlayStation Plus edition, is it a case of too little, too late?