Driveclub Says Sorry With Free Content And Dynamic Weather

The cleverly worded ‘thank you’ from Evolution Studios for waiting out issues with the servers is actually an apology (we think) in disguise. This week, the developer has released seven new cars, 22 new events, 10 new paint jobs and 10 new trophies.

The new content comes in the form of two expansion packs in the new game update: the Ignition Expansion Pack and the Photo-Finish Tour Pack. Both packs are available now through the in-game store or from the PlayStation store. This small gesture has been expected from fans since the initial failed release in early October.

The game update 1.07 also adds Photo Mode to the game - so you can snap your favourite pic while in the action - plus three new tracks: Wester Ross (Scotland), Yedapalli (India) and Los Pelambres (Chile). Small bug fixes and improvements to Club challenges are also included in the update.

Not everyone’s excited about the new content, though. Some gamers are upset that after almost two months of server issues, the same problems persist. Connectivity issues have actually increased since the new update, and some players are still getting booted from the multiplayer scene and forced to game in single player mode.

The other gripe is that neither the companion app nor the PlayStation Plus version of the game is ready. Originally scheduled to launch in early 2014 (on the original Driveclub release timeline), the MyDriveclub app was intended to be updated on your Club’s activities and notify you of Challenges in progress. The app would also let you watch a live stream of your friends racing, playback Challenge races, communicate with your friends and create Clubs.

A limited version of the game was supposed to be unveiled free of charge to PlayStation Plus subscribers at the same time that the full version came out. Because of the overwhelming server problems, both the app and the PS Plus versions were delayed. There is no word on when (or if) either of these will come to life.

But wait, there’s hope! Evolution Studios says it’s still hard at work on all the connection problems. Everyone who is able to work on the server issues is focusing solely on that. In the meantime, the team members who can’t work on the server problems are creating new content and features. You will be glad to know that an update with dynamic weather will be released in a matter of weeks. The game’s lack of dynamic weather was the cause for the most complaints in the current version behind connection problems.

Now the race is on for the studio to resolve its server problems, include dynamic weather, release the companion app and give PS Plus subscribers the free version before losing more potential players to the other racing games coming next year.