PS4 racer Driveclub has microtransactions and here’s how they work

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May 9, 2014

Upcoming PlayStation 4 racing game Driveclub will let you pay real money to unlock cars early, it has been revealed. It's par for the course for Sony racing games (and Microsoft's for that matter), as Gran Turismo 6 for PlayStation 3 also features microtransactions.

Speaking with IGN, Driveclub game director Paul Rustchynsky acknowledged that microtransactions are a hot-button issue for gamers, but stressed that the way in which such mini-payments are implemented in Driveclub should not affect the overall game balance.

"It's been a hot topic of late inside gaming, and we've been very keen to take on board the feedback from gamers and make sure we don’t upset anyone," Rustychynsky said. "So, in Driveclub, what we've done is make sure that the progression system is really straightforward, really simple, and gives you access to a lot of content really quickly."

"In Driveclub you earn Fame, and as you earn Fame, you level up. Every time you level up, we give you another car. There's no double gating or anything along those lines, you're given the car straight away without having to do anything else," he added. "The only thing we do have is a couple of shortcuts."

"If you want to unlock a car immediately, you can pay to unlock that car straight away but it's not a consumable microtransaction. We don't let people buy Fame, for example and spend lots and lots. The idea is if you want to shortcut things you can do--it's identical to what we did in Motorstorm RC. So if you played that, you know what we're doing here."

Of course, these microtransactions are entirely optional. For Gran Turismo 6, microtransactions are an alternate path for busy people, according to Sony. It sounds like their purpose is similar for Driveclub.

Driveclub launches October 7 only on PS4. Just today, Sony announced that it had reversed its controversial upgrade deal for the PlayStation Plus version of the game. For more, be sure to read GameSpot's previous coverage, including our interview with Rustchynsky.