Driveclub
Driveclub’s entire development and release were marred by frustration. It missed the PS4’s launch window by a whole 12 months and then released to middling review scores that lamented server issues and design oversights. That, and the fact that the entire club premise that comprised much of Evolution Studio’s vision for the game never really materialized properly.
Despite those shortcomings, Driveclub still recorded an impressive two million units sold — a decent return, but not enough to prevent Sony from putting the kibosh on Evolution Studios in 2016 and effectively killing the franchise for good.
Ironically, for all Driveclub’s faults, it actually played very well from a purely racing simulation standpoint. The game’s demise was a shame because, following several updates, Driveclub ended up as a decent package. The later introduction of a motorbike expansion and a VR component gave it an attractive scope (even if the VR experience was a little sick-making, depending on your VR sea legs).
The talent at Evolution Studios was clearly evident, but sadly it seems unlikely we’ll ever see the Driveclub franchise again.
