You won’t be able to play physical copies of Crimson Desert without downloading an update.
According to the game’s official FAQ, once you’ve pulled this data from Sony’s servers, the title will be fully playable offline. But it’ll need that initial connection in order to boot.
This has sparked lots of debate on social media, with some praising the move, as it’s effectively put a stop to pre-release leaks. Others understandably feel less positively about it all.
Writing on X (or Twitter), well-known Rockster uber-fan VideoTechUK referenced debunked rumours regarding GTA 6’s retail release, which at one point suggested the label may delay Blu-ray copies in order to prevent them from breaking street date.
Parent company Take-Two has since denied those reports.
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But VideoTechUK ruffled feathers with the following message:
“Crimson Desert is the first game to lock down early disc copies, more publishers need to do this to prevent leaks, especially Rockstar. Well done Crimson Desert, hopefully this becomes a norm.”
It’s an extremely controversial comment in the face of the criticism aimed at Game Key Cards, which require Switch 2 owners to download physical games, rendering the preservation aspect of retail releases redundant.
“Peak anti-accessibility, anti-consumer pro-corpo glazing for precious spoilers that will mean nothing in terms of sales – yuck! Fake physical releases shouldn’t be the norm. Don’t encourage this type of anti-consumer behaviour because there’s more to games than their launch date.”
The account Does It Play, which is dedicated to the practice of game preservation, added:
“Mandatory updates/DRM for physical games are supposedly ok to prevent spoilers, some claim. Think about what you are inviting here for a second! Loss of ownership and independence. If UPS delivers Jimmy's copy two days before yours, should we lock him up until you have yours?”
This is a thorny issue, because we do understand the concerns around spoilers. Capcom recently had to plead with players not to share their experiences with Resident Evil Requiem, when physical copies made their way out into the wild a week before release.
But mandatory downloads aren’t the solution, in our opinion. That just diminishes the very real appeal of physical releases, so we can understand the pushback against the original post.
Perhaps the solution here is to delay physical releases; wait until most bugs have been resolved, and then print the most up-to-date version on the disc.
Players may be forced to wait (or double-dip), but it would prevent the spoilers issue and would ensure the best possible build of the game is included on the actual disc.
Where do you stand on this issue? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below.