Anticipation is reaching a fever pitch for the imminent arrival of Doom: The Dark Ages, set to launch this week. However, a wave of disillusionment has swept through the gaming community following revelations about the PlayStation 5 version, which reportedly holds only 85MB of data on its disc. The Xbox Series X/S version isn’t faring much better, sparking a lively debate across various social media channels.
The discontent emerged over the weekend when a user who obtained the Xbox edition early took to Twitter to highlight that just 342MB of data was stored on the disc. Shortly thereafter, the account Does it Play?, dedicated to “[testing] commercial releases to ensure they operate offline,” provided insights into the PS5 version.
Does it Play? shared screenshots from a fan that seemingly corroborate the claim that the PS5’s physical copy consists of nothing more than an 85.01MB “stub” and a block that inhibits online connectivity for updates. As a result, buyers of the physical editions for both consoles will likely face a daunting download of around 85GB to fully experience the game.
To further complicate matters, visuals of Doom: The Dark Ages’ physical box bear an “internet required” label, yet they fail to specify the size of the mandatory download. Nova Play has reached out to Bethesda seeking clarification, and fans are eager for insights regarding their approach to physical releases.
This controversy follows a wave of similar backlash earlier this year when Bethesda debuted Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, which contained merely 20GB of the total 120GB install size on its disc. Nintendo hasn’t escaped scrutiny either, especially after it was announced that physical game cards for the forthcoming Switch 2 would serve primarily as download keys. Initial indications suggest that several third-party developers may adopt a similar approach for their Switch 2 titles.
Despite the uproar regarding the physical release of Doom: The Dark Ages, the game itself has received notable praise. Nova Play’s Christian Donlan rated it four stars, describing it as “brisk and playful,” while Digital Foundry lauded its technical aspects as “phenomenal.”
