Driveclub's long-awaited PS Plus edition will launch tomorrow, developer Evolution has announced.

A post on the PS Blog from Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida confirms all PlayStation Plus members will be able to play the game on Thursday, June 25. However, the launch will be done in stages in order to avoid a repeat of the issues we've seen previously with the game.

"We’ve spent a long time preparing for this launch after some difficult and unexpected set-backs," he writes. "To make absolutely certain that all players have the smoothest and most stable experience possible we are going to be duly cautious about how we release the game this time around.

"Starting on Thursday, all PlayStation Plus members can download Driveclub PS Plus Edition and begin playing the offline mode. Also starting Thursday, we will be rolling out online access to the Driveclub PS Plus Edition and will steadily bring more and more players online while continuously ensuring that all game systems are running smoothly. We know that this might be frustrating after your extra wait already, but hope you can understand that we are taking extra precautions to protect your experience when you do get online. We want to make sure we don’t overload the servers as we invite millions of PS Plus members to download the game tomorrow.

"We have to take this precaution because Driveclub connectivity is demanding for a multiplayer game, with countless ever-growing social connections across clubs, challenges, multiplayer, and hundreds of thousands of dynamic leaderboards and activity feeds."

The post concludes by reiterating that everyone will have full access to the offline mode of the game in the meantime and thanks gamers for their patience. Yoshida adds the companion app is still coming too.

Driveclub was launched in October, 2014 but was hit hard by severe server issues, forcing Sony and Evolution to postpone the promised free version of the game for PS Plus members.

Despite its launch debacle, which PlayStation UK boss Fergal Gara conceded late last year left both Sony and Evolution “embarrassed”, Driveclub has since expanded into a terrific racing game, boasting weather effects that truly need to be seen to be believed.