By Stop us if you’re familiar with this one
DOOM: The Dark Ages, the forthcoming medieval shooter developed by id Software, could be the latest Bethesda release mandating a download for its physical versions.
You might remember Indiana Jones and the Great Circle’s physical edition also required a substantial download, with merely 20GB of content present on the disc.
Well, initial copies of the new DOOM title come with an ‘Internet Required’ notice on the packaging, and while there’s mixed information currently, some are claiming that the game simply won’t launch without a download.
This scenario is not the same as a day one patch, by the way: generally, Blu-rays contain a fully playable version of the game, allowing you to insert it into your PS5 and play without ever connecting to the Internet. In this case, only a minor fraction of the game’s data has been recorded onto the disc, with the remaining content needing a download.
It’s clearly not vastly different from the Nintendo Switch 2’s Game Key Card predicament, which involves purchasing a physical cartridge that merely serves as a gateway to download the game. The distinction here is that cartridges do genuinely incur substantial costs, while Blu-rays are relatively inexpensive.
Ultimately, we’re quite dissatisfied with Microsoft’s support for physical media on the PS5. Games like Forza Horizon 5 have not seen any boxed editions released, and if DOOM: The Dark Ages follows in Indiana Jones’s footsteps, it may as well not have been released physically at all.
This situation is not promising for the future of game preservation.
[source x.com, via resetera.com]
As the Editor of Push Square, Sammy possesses over 15 years of expertise evaluating the PlayStation landscape, spanning from PS3 through PS5 and everything in between. He’s well-versed in PS Studios and industry issues, along with sports games and simulations. He also appreciates RPGs when he can allocate the time, and has a penchant for gacha games.