Oblivion remastered physical deluxe edition requires download on both PS5, Xbox Series X

Much to the dismay of physical media aficionados, the new Oblivion remastered deluxe edition apparently won't be shipped complete on disc.

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The box art for Bethesda's anticipated Oblivion remaster deluxe physical edition has been updated, confirming that the game will indeed require internet downloads, but it's unclear whether or not this refers to the bonus content, which also requires users to download a separate app in order to fully access. Gamers had initially hoped that the physical copies would ship complete on disc, with the full game and all associated bonuses packed onto the Blu-ray.

Each of the game boxes say different things. The PS5 box says "internet required" while also confirming that the deluxe DLC content has to be downloaded from the PlayStation Network. The Xbox Series X version says "requires content download," which is vague, but erring on the side of caution never hurts. It's expected that even if the disc contains most of the game itself, that players will have to download a portion of Oblivion's juggernaut file size from the internet. And for no particular reason at all, the physical deluxe edition is $40, whereas the base game (not deluxe) is currently $50 on both the PS Store and Xbox Store.

It's unclear whether or not the boxes refer to a technicality or not. It's true that gamers will have to go online to download a special app for the Oblivion digital artbook and soundtrack bonuses. So perhaps that's what the box is referring to, but the modern state of gaming clearly shows that publishers--especially those that are owned by Xbox--are fine with shipping game discs with hardly any data and forcing users to download the full game directly from the network.

It's a lower-cost solution and it also lets the developer better control the user experience--requiring an online download means that game will be automatically updated with all current patches, which could fix some bugs and issues in the launch version of the game that would have originally been printed on the disc.