Driver: San Francisco delayed on PC

When Ubisoft confirmed that the PC edition of Driver: San Francisco would see the return of its terrible 'always online' DRM, it tried to console fans with the words, "Bear in mind though that the PC version of DRVSF is released simultaneously to consoles." Ah. Not any more.

The publisher told Bluesnews that the PC edition of Driver: San Fran is now slated to launch in North America on September 27, pushed back from the September 6 supposed simultaneous launch. The UK release will be on September 30, Ubi confirmed to Eurogamer.

This the latest in a long line of mysterious delays for PC editions from Ubisoft, and is just as unexplained as those preceding it. Over the past few years, the PC editions of From Dust, Call of Juarez: The Cartel, H.A.W.X. 2, Assassin's Creed 2, Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, and more have been delayed until after the console release. Ubisoft's always been very coy about these delays, rarely offering explanations. The best answer we've had out of the company was back in 2008, after Tom Clancy's EndWar was delayed on PC.

"To be honest, if PC wasn't pirated to hell and back, there'd probably be a PC version coming out the same day as the other two," creative director Michael de Plater said at the time. "The level of piracy that you get with the PC just cannibalizes the others, because people just steal that version."

Whether that's still the reason behind the apparent policy of PC delays or not, only Ubisoft can say. However, the publisher has said that with the draconian DRM, it has seen "a clear reduction in piracy of our titles which required a persistent online connection, and from that point of view the requirement is a success."

The PC edition of Driver: Frisco also won't get a demo, though one was released for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 yesterday.