The rumors are true: PlayStation 4 launch title Driveclub won’t be making its November 2013 release. Reports of a delay bounced around on the Internet for most of this past week, but a post on PlayStation Blog from SCE Worldwide Studios bossman himself, Shuhei Yoshida, confirms that we’ll see the game arrive in “early 2014.” Note that this also extends to the Driveclub PlayStation Plus Edition, a free version for Sony’s premium subscribers that features less content (cars and tracks) than the retail release.
To make up for the now-removed PlayStation Plus offering at launch, Yoshida confirms that Compulsion Games’ Contrast will be available instead through the PS Plus Instant Game Collection program. The game appears to be a surreal side-scrolling platformer with Old Hollywood in its heart. However, it’s definitely not the same type of experience as Driveclub offers, so if you’re looking for fast cars at the PS4’s launch, Need for Speed: Rivals is going to be your lone (and likely not at all terrible) choice.
This marks the second PS4 launch title in a week to be hit with a delay. Ubisoft pushed Watch Dogs, which is also due for just about every other non-portable current-gen platform you can think of, to spring 2014. The thinning launch lineup is not good news for Sony fans, especially with the PS4’s lack of backward compatibility. You’ll probably want to get your current-gen hardware handy, whichever machine it might be, for the next few months at least.
