Developing for next-gen consoles is hard. That’s presumably the reason why Ubisoft decided to delay Watch Dogs into next Spring. It also may be why Sony is making the difficult decision to delay one of its much hyped launch titles.

Shuhei Yoshida, President, SCE Worldwide Studios, took to the PlayStation Blog today to announce that Evolution Studios’ DriveClub has been delayed until early 2014. He doesn’t offer much of a reason behind the delay, only that “the team requires more time in order to deliver on their vision.”

Wait a minute – wasn’t DriveClub supposed to be available for free at launch for PlayStation Plus members? It was indeed, and the free version of the game will still be available to Plus members when the game launches early next year. For now, Sony will be offering Contrast for free alongside Resogun as part of PlayStation Plus’ launch on the PS4.

So, what is this Contrast game that’s replacing DriveClub? It’s a puzzle-platformer from Compulsion Games that puts the players in the shoes of a detective named Dawn. She can move freely throughout the world in 3D, but can also become a silhouette in the background. Upon doing so, the game transitions into a 2D platformer where the player uses shadows as platforms.

Here’s a trailer:

As an added bonus to make up for the DriveClub delay, Sony will be offering all PlayStation Plus members full access to Killzone: Shadow Fall’s multiplayer on December 28-29.

While game delays are always disappointing, it’s to be expected around the launch of a new console. The only unusual thing about the DriveClub and Watch Dogs delay is just how close they were to launch. Delays are usually announced months in advance – not weeks. Still, we can only hope that these are the only delays we’ll see as we move closer to the launch of the PS4 and Xbox One.

[Image: PlayStation/YouTube]