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Starfield looks to be the latest Bethesda release with a physical edition that won’t work without a download.
This is slightly different to the Game Key Disc scenarios we’ve witnessed with the likes Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, as an early copy shared by X (or Twitter) account Does It Play shows there’s around 81GB of data on the Blu-ray.
However, as we reported earlier, the game’s file size as a whole totals about 123GB, so you have to download the rest.
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Starfield PS5 is a coaster. Our community verified through an early copy that it is another game with a hard-coded download prompt. You can’t play it without the update despite 81 GB being on disc.
(pics from… pic.twitter.com/wOx7QrGzL5
— Does it play? (@DoesItPlay1) March 30, 2026
Much like with Crimson Desert, if you boot the game offline for the first time, you’ll be told to connect to the Internet to update the game. Once everything is downloaded and installed, you’ll be able to play offline if you choose.
The solution here would be to ship the game on two discs, but we suppose the publisher would rather save the pennies and force players to download the rest of the game instead.
While this is all well and good in principle, one of the main reasons people prefer to purchase physical is for future preservation, but as Does It Play points out, Starfield’s disc will become a paperweight should Sony’s servers ever be switched off in the future.
[source x.com]
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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.