On September 1, Ubisoft will shut down Driver San Francisco’s online servers on PS3, Xbox 360, and PC. This is a mockery – we are about to lose one of the best online multiplayer racing games ever.
Before the servers went down, I made it my mission to collect every multiplayer PlayStation trophy – the Platinum trophy is not available without them. Luckily, I managed to get my hands on all 16 multiplayer trophies with just a few days left in case you were wondering. It speaks volumes that an 11-year-old PS3 game still has an active online player base.
Visiting Driver San Francisco again allowed me to rediscover the ingenious online multiplayer. More than a decade later, Driver San Francisco still offers some of the most fun, inventive and intense multiplayer in a racing game. There is nothing else like it.
Shift unleashed
It’s all thanks to the innovative Shift mechanism; a real game changer that makes online matches exciting and unpredictable.
You play undercover cop John Tanner, the long-running protagonist of the series. After a horrific accident in the game’s opening chase mission, having to fight for his life in a coma, Tanner gains a supernatural ability to “shift” into other cars and possess the Agent Smith-style driver. You then play the entire game in Tanner’s dream world.
Not only does this mark a tone shift (pun intended) for a series once rooted in reality, but opens up a whole new realm of gameplay possibilities.
The multiplayer makes clever use of the Shift mechanism. This is best shown in Tag mode. Here, the aim is to capture the leader by hitting their car and stealing the tag. The player who holds the tag the longest wins.
To balance the game, the tagged player cannot use Shift. Meanwhile, other players can teleport on-the-fly to cars anywhere in the city.
There’s an element of strategy here: do you shift into a truck and try to hit the protagonist head-on to steal the Tag? Or looking for a fast sports car to overtake them? Or spawn next to them in a saloon at the risk of getting stuck in a slow car when you head out?
There is an ominous sense of suspense for the Tagged player, knowing that anyone could spawn into a nearby vehicle at any time to take you out – be prepared to suddenly stop oncoming trucks from appearing out of nowhere.
Takeout is another highlight. The goal is simple: one driver is in a getaway car and all the others are in police cars trying to destroy the getaway car. Once again, Shift turns a standard cop and robbery mode into a glorious frenzy, with teleporting cop cars trying to take you out at every turn.
Shift also solves a common problem in online racing. In other games, the race is practically over if you spin out on the first lap. Single-player racing games solve this with rubber tires, which slows down the AI so that the player can catch up.
In Shift Races, however, you can get into another car and quickly get back into action. This means you still have a chance to win even if you fall behind.
Failing that, you can also hinder other players with Mario Kart-style weapons, such as Impulse, which spins other players’ cars. Since weapons require charging, performing an impulse attack on a moving car is tricky and requires a lot of skill.
With no less than 19 (!) different multiplayer game modes, there is something for everyone. Team-based competitions like Blitz and Capture the Flag encourage cooperative play, while the traditional Classic Race and Sprint GP modes disable Shift. Even without the option to switch cars, standard races are a lot of fun, rewarding pure driving skill while dodging heavy traffic.
Will Driver San Francisco ever get a sequel?
Driver San Francisco received rave reviews upon its release in 2011, with critics praising the car’s Hollywood-style Shift mechanic, comedic storyline and handling. Despite this, sales fell below expectations and we haven’t had a new Driver game since then, aside from the terrible mobile spin-off Driver Speedboat Paradise. Driver San Francisco deserves a sequel, but Ubisoft seemingly has no plans to revive the franchise.
One likely reason for this is that Ubisoft is prioritizing another open-world arcade racing series: The Crew. With The Crew 2 proving to be popular and a rumored sequel in the works, Ubisoft probably can’t justify launching a new Driver game as it could cannibalize The Crew’s sales.
Since the release of Driver San Francisco, Ubisoft Reflections now operates as a support studio for Ubisoft franchises such as Watch Dogs and The Division, meaning a sequel to Driver is unlikely to happen.
However, the community is clamoring for a new Driver game – Ubisoft’s Twitter posts are often inundated with comments from the Driver Madness community calling for a new Driver game. It’s clearly in demand, but Ubisoft barely recognizes Driver’s existence these days.
Driver San Francisco celebrated its tenth anniversary last year. This was a missed opportunity for Ubisoft to remaster the game and introduce the series to a new generation of players.
To make matters worse, you can’t even buy Driver San Francisco anymore unless you can find a used physical one. In 2016, the game mysteriously disappeared from digital stores, probably due to licensing issues, and has never been sold since.
This prompted YouTuber and former Polygon journalist Nick Robinson to launch an online petition pleading with Ubisoft to re-list Driver San Francisco. At the time of writing, the petition has more than 158,000 signatures.
Esports and sanctioned racing in iRacing and Gran Turismo have revolutionized online sim racing. But ever since Driver San Francisco, Need for Speed’s social media-inspired Autolog system and the open worlds of Burnout Paradise and Forza Horizon, arcade racers have been lacking in innovation when it comes to online multiplayer.
There are a few exceptions: GRID Legends’ Hop-in Multiplayer lets you seamlessly take over AI cars (maybe Shift was an inspiration here) in online races without having to wait in lobbies.
Next year, Wreckreation from the makers of Burnout will let you create your own tracks and game modes in a vast open world with friends. But right now, Driver San Francisco’s thrilling online races and chases are second to none.
If you still own a copy, do yourself a favor and experience Driver San Francisco’s frenetic multiplayer while you still can. Trust me, you’ll love it – this is one of the most fun things you can have in a racing game.
Let’s hope the community can find a way to fix the online servers so that more players can discover this multiplayer masterpiece.
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