Sony has delayed the release of PS4 racer DriveClub from this November to “early 2014”. The “difficult decision” to push back Evolution Studios’ game was explained by Shuhei Yoshida, president of SCE Worldwide Studios, in a post on the PlayStation Blog.

“DriveClub will be a truly innovative, socially connected racing game, but the team requires more time in order to deliver on their vision — and I’m fully confident the game will surpass your expectations,” he said. "We understand that the delay is disappointing news, but can assure you that the reason we have made this decision is to ensure that when DriveClub launches, it will realize the next gen racing vision.

“DriveClub is a really ambitious racing title and the game is looking stunning," Yoshida added. "The extra time we’re giving the team means the visuals and overall experience are only going to get better. We can assure you that it will be worth the wait.”

A free, stripped down version of the game featuring less cars and tracks will still be offered to PlayStation Plus members when the title releases, but not in time for the PS4 launch as previously planned. For the PS4 launch, in addition to Resogun, Sony will now offer a free copy of Contrast to PS Plus members as part of the Instant Game Collection.

The company has also announced plans to offer Plus members access to an exclusive open weekend Killzone Shadow Fall multiplayer trial on December 28 and 29.