27 Years Ago, PlayStation Released 'Driver'

In 1999, PlayStation released one of the most formative racing games of its era, paving the way for countless other hits in the decades to come.

Racer was released on the original PlayStation and later ported to Windows, Mac OS, and Game Boy Color following its huge commercial success and strong critical reviews. There had been plenty of racing games before it-most notably on arcade consoles-but this felt like a seismic shift in the genre.

Driver became known for its innovative gameplay and large scale, with players driving through multiple cities and completing a huge array of missions in the process. The game included virtual renditions of Miami, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York, giving players a huge variety of locations to choose from.

Inspired heavily by '90s action movies with their slow-mo car chases and violent shoot-outs, Driver blended the existing racing genre with a more action-packed storyline and some game-changing combat mechanics.

In a very similar style to the flashy action movies Driver was inspired by, the game's story follows an undercover police officer who works his way into a criminal organization and uncovers a plot to assassinate the President of the United States. And there's only one thing he needs to stop them-cars.

Driver was a massive commercial success upon release, with fans praising the game's forward-thinking mechanics and immersive story. Its success led to several updated versions over the next few years, including ports for the PC and Nintendo consoles, and two sequels in 2000 and 2004.

While the sequels never quite captured the magic of the first game, Driver remains one of the most influential driving games of its time. It pioneered several new gaming mechanics that are still found in racing games today, all the way from Forza to Mario Kart.

The original game sold an estimated 1 million copies, which was extremely impressive for a video game of this era-especially one that wasn't part of an established franchise. Its commercial success and strong reviews also led to an IOS version, released in 2009, that introduced the game to a whole new generation of players.

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on May 16, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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This story was originally published May 16, 2026 at 10:46 AM.