Driveclub Servers Will Shut Down In 2020, But Add-On Content Is Still Available For Now

TheGamer

By Jamie Latour

Published Mar 31, 2019

As of 2020, Driveclub shall be no more.

As of 2020, Driveclub shall be no more.

This will be surely come as a shock to Driveclub fans everywhere, but Sony made the sad announcement that the racing game’s servers will be shut down on March 31, 2020. This gives everyone a final year of Driveclub membership.

This announcement will also go for the Driveclub spin-offs, like Driveclub VR and Driveclub Bikes. Nothing and no one is safe from the Driveclub shutdown.

The game can still be played in offline modes, but all online features will be disabled when the servers go down. This means doing things like competing in online multiplayer races and tournaments, creating online events, beating other racers’ scores on leaderboards, sharing your driving stats, or even representing your own sick driving club will no longer be possible.

However, despite this looming shutdown date, season passes and other content are still going to be offered until August 31^st of this year. After that, the game's downloadable content, as well as the game itself, will be removed from the PlayStation Store. The season pass content will be unavailable online once Driveclub goes offline, but it can still be played offline and in single player modes.

Driveclub never really took off the way developers at Evolution Studios wanted it to. It seemed like they wanted it to be the next Forza or Gran Turismo, but it never quite reached those lofty heights. The reviews for the game were alright, never quite glowing, but not outright terrible. It was a very middle of the road kind of game; a sort of fitting mediocrity for a racing game.

Furthermore, the game had an absolutely dismal launch. There were a ton of issues with their servers, and for a while, Driveclub owners were having trouble even being able to get online. This caused the developers to scramble to find a solution to fix that problem. It’s sad that after all the trouble Evolution Studios had in getting the servers up, that they’d be shut down years later so unceremoniously.

Sony shut the company down shortly after Driveclub was launched to little fanfare. The rest of Evolution’s employees were then folded into the Codemasters development team. 2018's Onrush was their latest racing game, and despite solid critical response, it sold poorly. A majority of the remaining Evolution Studios members, including Driveclub and Onrush director Paul Rustchynsky, were then let go by the company.

It’s a sad end to both Driveclub and Evolution Studios. Despite some good ideas, they just never quite found their way to success. If you have any interest in perhaps being a member of this particular driving club, you can race others for one more year, and then Driveclub will close its online doors permanently in 2020.