Driveclub focuses on road racing. Players are able to make clubs of up to six players and complete challenges together to earn fame (a basic form of currency in the game). Every team member's action contributes to the club's overall success. The game's tracks and environments are inspired by real places in diverse regions across the globe. Driveclub features dynamic weather such as rain and snow, and a day-night cycle. Each rain drop has realistic behaviour.
There are three main game modes in Driveclub; tour, single event and multiplayer. In tour, single-player events set in various locations can be played using the allocated cars. A set of objectives are present and can be tackled during the events. In the single event game mode, players choose what event they would like to play (drift, race or time-trial) and have the freedom to select the location, weather and other options. The multiplayer game mode revolves around competition and co-operation with real life players. Players can complete challenges with social leaderboards, create clubs and play online races. There are a total of 50 cars to use, along with some cars that can be downloaded from the PlayStation Store for free or with a charge. The categories include hot hatch, sports, performance, super and hyper. Each car can be customized with paintjobs, paint, stickers, etc