Halo Infinite requires big downloads to start playing, disc or no disc

Halo Infinite requires large downloads to commencement playing, disc or no disc

(Epitome credit: Xbox Game Studios)

Halo Infinite is finally available today (Dec. 8) in its entirety. While gamers take been able to dive into the multiplayer part of the game for the terminal few weeks, today marks the get-go time that the game'southward story campaign is available.

If you've broken the shackles of physical media and purchased the game digitally, you can start downloading the game at ane p.thousand. Eastern fourth dimension. If y'all have the disc, though, you lot may see a small problem: Halo Infinite's campaign isn't on the disc, at least non in its entirety.

This information comes from Eurogamer, which measured how much data the Halo Space disc installs versus how much the panel needs to download. The disc contains 15 GB worth of campaign data, but the full game is much larger: 25 GB for the campaign, too as 4 GB for the multiplayer component. (You need the multiplayer portion of the game even if you want to play only the campaign.)

If you have a potent internet connection without data caps, this admittedly isn't much of an event. You can't preload the campaign either way, and then if you boot up your Xbox at 1 p.chiliad., yous tin can have the game ready to play by dinnertime.

Only it does raise an interesting question: What good is buying a physical copy of a game if you can't actually play it out of the box?

Most modern games, including Halo Infinite, have substantial Day-One patches that you'll desire to download to get the all-time experience. Notwithstanding generally speaking, discs ship with a playable copy of the game.

This can be a boon for players with weak internet connections or restrictive information caps. It'southward also a safeguard against the Microsoft Shop eventually shutting down. Someday in the far future, yous'll no longer be able to download Halo Infinite, only a disc (in theory) should always be readable.

Microsoft hasn't explained the verbal breakdown betwixt the data stored on Halo Space's disc and the data the game requires players to download from the Microsoft Shop. Either way, though, simply inserting the disc into your Xbox volition not be enough to start playing the campaign. What, precisely, is the value of buying a disc if yous have to download the ameliorate part of the game, anyhow?

This trouble isn't sectional to Microsoft, granted. If you lot buy a concrete re-create of BioShock: The Collection on Nintendo Switch, you'll have to download nigh of the information before y'all can play it. The physical disc or cartridge offers no advantage over digital copies, and one significant disadvantage: You still need to keep the physical media in your organization while you play the game.

In any case, Halo Infinite is finally hither, and it seems similar it was worth the wait. Our Halo Infinite review awarded the game 3.5 out of v stars, claiming that it's "exactly what the franchise needed." That seems worth waiting a few more hours. Xbox 1 owners should also be aware that Halo Space runs pretty well on older hardware, even if information technology doesn't have all the aforementioned visual appeal.

Marshall Honorof is a senior editor for Tom's Guide, overseeing the site's coverage of gaming hardware and software. He comes from a science writing background, having studied paleomammalogy, biological anthropology, and the history of science and technology. Afterwards hours, you can find him practicing taekwondo or doing deep dives on classic sci-fi.