But will play offline after initial update
If you’re planning to go physical with upcoming RPG Crimson Desert, then keep in mind you’ll need to connect to the Internet to fully install the game.
With wild copies beginning to circulate ahead of the release’s PS5 launch, we can now confirm that the game won’t run off its Blu-ray disc. You’ll need to connect to the Internet and download the game’s day one patch to play.
It seems the reason for this is quite simple: the full game is not on the disc.
We’re making an educated guess here, but images of the install process show about 76GB being copied across. We know from the specs that the full game will occupy about 150GB on PC at least.
So it’s probably safe to assume, even with compression, the PS5 version will be roughly similar in size. And Pearl Abyss has opted not to ship two Blu-rays here.
It seems from today’s Digital Foundry report that the day one patch will likely be meaty, as the game doesn’t even support the PS5 Pro’s new PSSR upscaler yet – but it will at launch.
It’s worth noting that beyond that initial update, you will be able to play the game offline, so no further handshakes with any servers will be required.
Nevertheless, this is bad news for purists and preservation fans, who like knowing their full library will forever be available on a disc.
We’re hesitant to compare this to the Game Key Card situation, because clearly you’re getting almost a full game on your Blu-ray – but we suppose it doesn’t really change the outcome if the software simply won’t run without a download.
As the Editor of Push Square, Sammy has over 15 years of experience analysing the world of PlayStation, from PS3 through PS5 and everything in between. He’s an expert on PS Studios and industry matters, as well as sports games and simulators. He also enjoys RPGs when he has the time to dedicate to them, and is a bit of a gacha whale.
